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CONTRIBUTIONS 


EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST, 

INCLUDING   THE 

MORAVIAN    MISSIONS   IN   OHIO. 

t 

SAMUEL  P..HILDRETH,  M.  D. 


CINCINNATI: 
HITCHCOCK   &   WALDEN, 

NEW  YORK: 
CARLTON  &  LANAHAN. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1864, 
BY  POE   &  HTTCHCOCK, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of   the  District  Court  for  the  Southern 
District  of  Ohio. 


F 


ADVERTISEMENT. 


The  following  sketches  of  pioneer  life  and 
times  were  written  by  the  late  Samuel  P.  Hil- 
dreth,  M.  D.,  and  by  him  given  some  years 
since  to  Hon.  Elisha  Whittlesey,  first  Con- 
troller of  the  Treasury.  On  Mr.  Whittlesey's 
death  they  came  by  bequest  into  the  possession 
of  T.  B.  Tait,  of  Ashtabula  county,  Ohio,  by 
whom  they  were  sent  to  our  Agents  for  pub- 
lication. They  relate  mainly  to  scenes  and 
incidents  in  North-Eastern  Ohio,  and  include 
a  brief  account  of  the  Moravian  Mission. 

The  author,  Dr.  Hildreth,  was  himself  a  pio- 
i 
neer  and  the  historian  of  pioneers.     He  was  a 

native  of  Methuen,  Essex  county,  Massachu- 
setts. In  1806  he  commenced  the  practice  of 
medicine  at  Marietta,  when  the  place  contained 

384916 


4  \   '  "' ADVERTISEMENT. 

but  six  hundred  inhabitants,  and  continued  it 
fifty -five  years.  In  1861,  as  he  said,  "I  laid 
it  entirely  aside,  and  am  now  waiting  the  time 
of  my  departure  with  resignation  and  hope." 
He  died  at  his  home  in  Marietta,  July  28, 
1863,  aged  eighty  years. 

The  reader  will  find  these  pages  entertaining 
and  instructive.  Some  of  the  events  recorded 
have  occurred  within  the  life-time  and  memory 
of  those  yet  living,  and  a  few  of  the  actors 
or  witnesses  of  these  scenes  still  survive.  One 
of  them,  Joseph  Kelly,  died  since  these  pages 
were  in  the  printers'  hands.  A  daughter  of  the 
missionary  Heckewelder  yet  lives  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, having  reached  a  ripe  old  age.  Doubtless 
others  whose  stories  are  given,  are  yet  with  us; 
but  one  by  one  the  aged  pioneers  are  passing 
away,  and  we  welcome  this  volume  to  perpetuate 
their  names  and  deeds  to  those  who  enjoy  the 
fruit  of  their  labors. 

The  Editor. 
Cincinnati,  August,  1864. 


PREFACE. 


On  the  appearance  of  a  new  book  before  the 
public  every  reader  has  the  right  to  inquire  the 
object  of  the  writer  in  presenting  it.  In  this 
instance  the  author's  only  plea  is  the  desire 
of  preserving  from  utter  loss  a  few  of  the 
many  interesting  events  connected  with  the 
early  history  of  this  country,  which  in  a  few 
brief  years  would  have  been  entirely  forgotten. 
They  are  at  present  tolerably  fresh  in  the 
memories  of  some  of  the  actors  themselves, 
but  are  fast  fading  away  before  the  touch  of 
time.  Another  object  was  to  compare  past 
things  with  present,  and  thus  better  enable 
the  generation  of  these  days  to  appreciate  the 
trials  and  sufferings  of  those  who  inhabited  this 
now  beautiful  land  when  it  was  covered  with 


6  PREFACE. 

vast  forests,  and  tenanted  by  savages  and  wild 
beasts.  The  achievements  of  these  men  ought 
not  soon  to  be  forgotten.  And  last,  not  least, 
was  a  desire  to  bring  to  the  light  the  trials 
and  sufferings  of  the  Moravian  missionaries  and 
their  Indian  converts  in  Ohio.  Very  few  of 
the  present  inhabitants  even  know  that  such 
a  mission  ever  existed,  and  still  fewer  are  ac- 
quainted with  the  particular  events  connected 
therewith.  Copious  extracts  have  been  taken 
from  Loskiel's  history,  to  whom  I  am  indebted 
for  the  facts  relating  to  the  mission,  and  many 
of  them  in  his  own  language. 

With  these  brief  remarks  the  following  pages 
are  presented  to  the  rising  generations  of  the 
West,  accompanied  with  the  wish  that  they 
may  afford  to  them  as  much  satisfaction  in  the 
reading  as  they  have  to  me  in  the  writing. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 
SUMMER    RAMBLINGS. 

FAGK. 

1.  Facxs  Gathered 15 

2.  A  Venerable  Pioneer 16 

3.  A  Story  of  Olden  Times 21 

CHAPTER  n. 
LEWIS    WETZEL. 

1.  Early  Training 24 

2.  A  Singular  Encounter 26 

3.  Recognition  and  Reconciliation 29 

4.  Telling  a  Savage  by  his  Tracks 30 

5.  Theory  Tested 30 

6.  The  Pursuit 32 

7.  The  Enemy  Overtaken 33 

8.  Skillful  and  Successful  Attack 34 

9.  Death  of  Wetzel 36 

CHAPTER  III. 
BORDER    SETTLEMENTS. 

1.  Old  Fort  M'Intosh 37 

2.  Brady's  Hill 40 

1 


8  CONTENTS. 

no*. 

3.  Trapping  Excursion 43 

4.  New  Connecticut 46 

5.  Ravenna 48 

6.  Brady's  Pond 49 

7.  Brady's  Leap 50 

CHAPTER  IV. 
INCIDENTS    ON    THE    BORDER. 

1.  Falls  op  the  Cuyahoga n 56 

2.  Indian  Fisheries 58 

3.  Joseph  Kelly,  or  the  Lost  Son 59 

4.  Treaty  with  the  Indians 67 

5.  Indian  Tact 68 

6.  Cuyahoga  Falls 70 

7.  Tuscarawas 71 

8.  Fort  Laurens 71 

9.  Siege  op  Fort  Laurens 73 

10.  Relief  of  the  Garrison 73 

CHAPTER  V. 
THE    MORAVIAN    MISSIONS    IN    OHIO. 

1.  Schoenbrunn  and  the  Moravian  Missionaries 76 

2.  Missionary  Enterprise 77 

3.  John  Heckewelder 80 

4.  Epidemic  Disease 81 

5.  Migrations  op  the  Christian  Indians 82 

6.  Loskiel's  Narrative 83 

7.  Incidents  on  the  Route , 86 


CONTENTS.  9 

PAGE. 

8.  Living  Ashes.. 88 

9.  Removal  to  Gnadenhutten 89 

10.  Proceedings  op  1774 91 

11.  Relief  Obtained 94 

12.  Transactions  of  1775 *. 94 

13.  A  New  Town  Built  by  the  Delawares 95 

14.  Transactions  of  1776 96 

15.  New  Station  Established 96 

16.  Indian  Baptism 98 

CHAPTER  VI. 
THE    MORAVIAN    MISSIONS  —  CONTINUED. 

1.  Transactions  of  1777 100 

2.  Trials  of  the  Missionaries 101 

3.  schoenbrunn  abandoned 102 

4.  The  Delawares  conclude  to  Fight 102 

5.  Alarms  of  the  Christian  Indians 103 

6.  Engagement  between  the  Hurons  and  Whites 104 

7.  Progress  of  the  Mission 104 

8.  Cruelty  of  the  Indians 105 

9.  Removal  from  Gnadenhutten , 106 

10.  Efforts  of  the  British 106 

11.  Preservation  of  the  Mission 107 

12.  Transactions  of  1779 108 

13.  Plots  against  the  Missionaries 108 

14.  Kindness  of  Colonel  Gibson 109 

15.  Salem  Built 110 

16.  Cheering  Appearance  of  the  Church Ill 

17.  Additional  Missionaries 112 


10  CONTENTS. 

MM. 

18.  BlETH  OF  THE  FlEST  WHITE  CHILD 114 

19.  Teansactions  op  1781 115 

20.  Attack  on  the  Missionabies 115 

21.  Intebfebence  of  a  Soeceeee 117 

22.  FurtheS  Aggbessions 118 

23.  Conduct  of  Believing  Indians 121 

24.  Magnanimity  of  an  Indian  Female 122 

25.  Exile  of  the  Missionabies 123 

26.  Seveeities  of  the  Joubney 125 

27.  Sandusky  Cbeek 126 

28.  The  Missionabies  Oedered  to  Detroit 127 

29.  Sufferings  during  the  Winter 128 

CHAPTER  VII. 
THE    MORAVIAN    MISSIONS  —  CONTINUED. 

1.  Visit  of  the  Hurons 130 

2.  Further  Troubles  of  the  Mission 131 

3.  Massacre  at  Gnadenhutten 132 

4.  depabtube  of  the  missionabies 134 

5.  Dispersion  of  the  Christian  Indians 134 

6.  New  Gnadenhutteh 135 

7.  News  of  Peace 138 

8.  Transactions  op  1784 138 

9.  Famine  at  New  Gnadenhutten 139 

10.  Pboobess  of  New  Gnadenhutten 141 

11.  Transactions  of  1785 142 

12.  Ravages  of  the  Wolves 142 

13.  Peoceedings  at  New  Gnadenhutten 143 

14.  The  Chippewas  Order  Them  Away 144 


CONTENTS.  11 

PACE. 

15.  Departure  from  New  Gnadenhutten 145 

16.  The  Travelers  Leave  Detroit. r 146 

17.  Troubles  of  the  Journey 147 

18.  Settlement  of  Pilgerrah 148 

19.  Remarks T. 148 

20.  Proceedings  at  Pilgerrah 149 

21.  Departure  of  Mr.  Heckewelder 150 

22.  Sickness  of  the  Missionaries 150 

23.  Transactions  of  1787 151 

24.  Removal  from  Pilgerrah 153 

25.  Great  Storm 154 

26.  Fine  Fish 154 

27.  More  Trials  and  Disappointments 155 

28.  Removal  to  Pettquotting 156 

29.  Conversion  of  a  Noted  Savage 157 

30.  Mission  History  since  1787 158 

CHAPTER  VIH. 
CONTINUATION    OF    BORDER    HISTORY. 

1.  Story  of  Silver  Heels 161 

2.  Logan's  Spring 167 

3.  First  Settlement  at  Marietta 170 

CHAPTER  IX. 
PIONEER    BIOGRAPHY. 

1.  Isaac  Williams , 179 

2.  Story  of  John  Wetzel 183 

3.  Biography  Continued 187 


12  CONTENTS. 

pach. 

4.  Famine  among  the  Colonists 189 

5.  Simple  Habits •. 193 

6.  Hamilton  Keek 194 

CHAPTER  X. 

LEGENDS    OF    BORDER    HISTORY. 

1.  Legend  of  Caepkntee's  Bab 199 

CHAPTER   XI. 
MISCELLANEOUS    SCRAPS. 

1.  Description  of  Foet  Haemae 215 

2.  Escape  op  R.  J.  Meigs,  Esq 220 

3.  Description  op  Campus  Maetius 227 

4.  Chaeacteb  op  the  Pioneees 232 

5.  The  First  Preacher  in  Ohio 233 


CONTRIBUTIONS 


EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 


CONTRIBUTIONS 

TO     THE 

EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 


CHAPTER   I. 

SUMMER    RAMBLINGS. 
•  FACTS   GATHERED. 

For  a  number  of  years  past  it  has  been  my 
practice,  during  the  vernal  months,  to  make 
rambling  excursions  into  distant  and  remote 
parts  of  the  Western  settlements,  for  the  double 
purpose  of  amusement  and  the  collection  of 
useful  facts  in  relation  to  geology,  and  to  the 
early  history  of  the  country.  There  is  a  fresh- 
ness and  youthfulness  over  the  face  of  the  earth 
during  this  season  of  the  year  which  is  gratify- 
ing to  the  senses,  and  highly  promotive  of  cheer- 
fulness   and   kindly    affections.      During    these 

15 


16        EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

periods  I  have  been  enabled  to  gather  up  many- 
interesting  facts  connected  with  the  early  settle- 
ment of  the  "  near  West,"  especially  that  por- 
tion of  it  lying  east  of  the  Muskingum  River. 
It  is  only  in  this  way  that  some  few  of  "the 
thousand  and  one  adventures,"  and  sufferings 
of  that  brave  and  hardy  race  of  men,  who  first 
settled  on  the  western  side  of  the  Alleghanies, 
can  be  preserved  from  the  oblivion  to  which 
they  are  rapidly  hastening.  The  period  of 
human  life  is  so  short,  that  most  of  the  actors 
in  and  the  cotemporaries  of  those  events  have 
already  passed  away;  a  few,  however,  are  still 
living. 

A   VENERABLE   PIONEER. 

Only  a  few  days  since  I  saw  and  conversed 
with  one  of  these  venerable  and  aged  pioneers — 
Peter  Anderson — who  had  resided  on  the  banks 
of  the  Ohio  for  sixty-six  years,  or  since  the 
year  A.  D.  1770.  He  was  then  a  boy  of  twelve 
or   fourteen  years  of  age,  and  lived  with  his 


A  VENERABLE   PIONEER.  17 

parents  near  the  Ohio  River,  a  few  miles  above 
the  present  town  of  Wellsburg,  in  Virginia. 
At  that  time  their  nearest  neighbor  was  ten 
miles  distant,  and  the  next  nearest,  thirty  miles. 
The  first  year  the  family  lived  in  a  hut  con- 
structed of  the  bark  of  trees,  and  it  was  only 
in  the  second  year  that  a  force  sufficient  to 
raise  the  walls  of  a  log  one  could  be  collected. 
Within  the  life  of  this  man  what  changes 
have  passed  over  the  face  of  the  West,  and 
that  of  the  United  States  generally!  We  were 
then  feeble  colonists,  and  the  vassals  of  a  for- 
eign power — now  a  great  and  independent  nation. 
The  whole  region,  from  Fort  Pitt  to  the  Missis- 
sippi, was  covered  with  one  continued  forest, 
and  the  red  man  not  only  claimed  the  right  to, 
but  possessed  unlimited  control  over  this  vast 
region.  The  canoe  of  the  savage  navigated  its 
numerous  and  mighty  rivers;  the  wild  beasts 
of  the  forest  tenanted  the  wild  domain — within 
the  brief  life  of  a  single  individual,  how  vast 

the  changes  that  have  taken  place !    The  steam- 
2 


18        EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

boat,  like  a  Leviathan,  dashing  the  waters  from 
her  bows,  and  causing  even  the  earth  to  tremble 
on  the  adjacent  shores  as  she  moves,  now  navi- 
gates those  streams  over  which  the  light  barge 
of  the  savage  once  silently  glided.  The  forests, 
then  filled  with  the  buffalo,  the  deer,  the  bear, 
and  the  wolf,  have  fallen  before  the  ax  of  the 
woodman;  and  lowing  herds  and  bleating  flocks 
pover  the  fields  opened  to  cultivation. 

Mighty  cities  and  innumerable  villages,  with 
their  attendant  spires  and  piles  of  massive  build- 
ings, now  cover  the  ground  once  occupied  by 
the  lowly  hut  of  the  Indian;  and  in  all  this 
wide  space,  so  lately  teeming  with  wild  game, 
from  Fort  Pitt  to  the  Mississippi,  the  hunter 
with  difficulty  finds  a  single  victim  for  his  rifle; 
and  where  he  once  lived  in  plenty  on  the  spoils 
of  the  chase,  would  now  starve  with  no  other 
resource.  Even  the  fishes,  apparently  so  safely 
protected  by  the  element  in  which  they  move 
from  the  depredation  of  man,  have  partaken  of 
the  general  destruction  of  the  aboriginal  races, 


A  VENERABLE   PIONEER.  19 

and  the  waters,  which  in  early  days  were  filled 
and  teeming  with  the  finny  tribes,  are  now 
nearly  deserted  and  desolate.  From  a  cause 
as  yet  unexplained,  even  the  molluscous  ani- 
mals are  nearly  or  quite  extinct  in  the  Mus- 
kingum River,  from  above  Zanesville  to  its 
mouth.  In  the  months  of  May  and  June,  1836, 
the  river  was  partially  covered  with  the  floating 
bodies  of  clams,  uniones  and  anadontce,  that 
had  died  in  their  oozy  beds,  and,  as  the  specific 
gravity  changed  by  incipient  putrefaction,  had 
risen  to  the  surface,  leaving  the  empty  shell 
open  on  the  bottom  of  the  river.  Some  disease 
more  fatal  than  the  cholera  has  attacked  this 
secluded  race;  perhaps  induced  by  the  chmge 
in  their  element,  from  the  mixture  of  salt  water 
and  bittern,  draining  from  the  numerous  salt 
wells  on  the  shores  of  the  river.  Even  a  slight 
change  in  the  ingredients  of  our  atmosphere 
induces  in  man  disease  and  death. 

Four  millions  of  whites  now  occupy  the  an- 
cient domains   of  the   savages  of  the   eastern 


20        EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

portion  of  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi.  How 
little  the  present  inhabitants  know  or  dream  of 
the  privations  and  sufferings  of  the  pioneers  of 
this  fair  valley !  For  more  than  thirty  years 
they  lived  in  almost  continual  contests  with 
the  aboriginals.  Every  tree  they  felled,  every 
rod  they  plowed,  and  every  hour  they  trav- 
ersed the  forest  in  search  of  game,  was  at 
the  hazard  of  life  and  limb.  If  they  visited 
the  mill,  or  attended  a  neighboring  meeting  to 
hear  the  preaching  of  an  itinerant  minister  of 
the  Gospel,  it  was  with  the  trusty  rifle  in  their 
hands;  and  he  who  lay  down  in  peace  and 
apparent  safety,  was  often  awakened  by  the 
yell  of  the  savage;  -the  morning  sun  rose  on 
the  smoking  ruins  of  his  hut  and  the  reeking 
limbs  of  his  murdered  family.  But,  as  the  old 
proverb  hath  it,  "the  back  is  fitted  to  the 
burden."  These  heroes  were  men  of  steel, 
whose  courage  no  dangers  could  appall,  and 
whose  perseverance  no  difficulties  could  ob- 
struct.    Even  the  females  were  equally  hardy 


A  STORY   OF  EARLY  TIMES.  21 

and  gifted  with  fortitude  fitted  to  the  emerg- 
ency. To  preserve  the  remembrance  of  these 
days  from  the  oblivion  to  which  they  are  hast- 
ening, I  have  recorded  a  few  of  the  feats  of 
individuals,  whose  names  are  only  known  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  spots  where  the  events  took 
place,  and  to  a  few  of  the  descendants  of  the 
old  inhabitants,  whom  the  unceasing  tide  of 
emigration  has  not  yet  swept  away  to  the  re- 
gions of  the  "far  West.' 

A   STORY  OF  EARLY  TIMES. 

In  the  month  of  May,  in  the  year  1835,  as 
I  was  gliding  along  the  smooth  waters  of  the 
Ohio,  between  the  town  of  Steubenville  and  the 
mouth  of  Beaver  River,  the  site  of  old  Fort 
M'Intosh,  in  one  of  those  beautiful  inventions 
of  modern  days,  a  steamboat,  the  following  story 
of  early  times  was  narrated  by  a  passenger, 
who  received  it  from  an  old  settler,  intimately 
acquainted  with  the  hero  of  the  adventure.  This 
region  and  the   settlements   at  Wheeling  were 


22        EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

for  many  years  the  western  frontier,  and  more 
individual  prowess  was  displayed,  and  more  blood 
shed,    within   a    space    of  forty    miles    square, 
than  in  any  other  portion  of  the  valley  of  the 
Ohio  of  equal  extent.     Many  powerful  tribes 
of  savages  lived  on  the  north-west  side  of  the 
Ohio  River  within  a  few  days'  march,  and  the 
Mingoes,  a  vindictive  race,  possessed  the  rich 
alluvion,  commencing  a  short  distance  below  the 
present  town  of  Steubenville,  for  many  miles 
along  the  banks  of  the  river,  till  within  a  few 
years  of  this  time.     These  lands  still  retain  the 
name  of  "the  Mingo  Bottoms."     Within  this 
district   the    family   of  Logan,   the    celebrated 
Indian  chief,  were  murdered  in  cold  blood  by 
a  party  under  Captain  Greathouse,  at  Baker's 
Bottom,  opposite  the  mouth  of  Yellow  Creek, 
near  the  upper  portion  or  north-east  extremity 
of  the  present  State  of  Virginia.     The  particu- 
lars of  this  odious  and  much-contested  transac- 
tion have  been  recently  published,  as  related  by 
Henry  Jolly,  Esq.,  who  is  so  kindly  and  honor- 


A   STORY   OF   EARLY   TIMES.  23 

ably  mentioned  in  some  of  the  communications 
of  Mark  Bancroft  to  the  "Casket,"  published 
in  Philadelphia.  But  I  must  return  to  the 
promised  narrative. 


24        EARLY  HISTORY  OP  THE  NORTH-WEST. 


CHAPTER   II. 

LEWIS    WETZEL.* 
EARLY   TRAINING. 

Among  the  heroes  of  border  warfare  Lewis 
Wetzel  held  no  inferior  station.  Inured  to 
hardships  while  yet  in  boyhood,  and  educated 
in  all  the  various  arts  of  woodcraft — from  that 
of  hunting  the  beaver  and  the  bear  to  that  of 
the  wily  Indian — he  became  in  manhood  one 
of  the  most  celebrated  marksmen  of  the  day. 
His  form  was  erect,  and  of  that  hight  best 
adapted  to  activity,  being  very  muscular  and 
possessed  of  great  bodily  strength.  His  frame 
was  warmed  by  a  heart  that  never  palpitated 

*  This  story  and  two  others  of  Samuel  Brady  were  recently 
published  in  the  American  Journal  of  Science;  but  so  few 
readers  have  access  to  that  work  in  the  West  that  it  was 
thought  best  to  republish  them  here. 


EARLY  TRAINING.  25 

with  fear,  and  animated  by  a  spirit  that  quailed 
not,  nor  became  confused  in  the  midst  of  danger 
and  death. 

From  constant  practice  he  could  bear  pro- 
longed and  violent  exercise,  especially  that  of 
running  and  walking,  without  fatigue;  and  had 
also  acquired  the  art  of  loading  his  rifle  when 
moving  at  full  speed  through  the  forests,  and 
wheeling  on  the  instant  could  discharge  a  bullet 
with  unerring  aim,  the  distance  of  eighty  or 
one  hundred  yards,  into  a  mark  not  larger  than 
a  shilling.  This  art  he  has  been  known,  more 
than  once,  to  practice  with  success  on  his  savage 
foes.  ^.  celebrated  marksman  in  those  days 
was  estimated  by  the  other  borderers  in  the 
same  way  that  a  knight  templar  or  a  knight 
of  the  cross  was  valued  by  his  cotemporaries 
who  excelled  in  the  tournament  or  the  charge, 
in  the  days  of  chivalry.  Challenges  of  skill 
often  took  place,  and  marksmen  frequently  met 
by  appointment,  who  lived  at  the  distance  of 
fifty  miles  or  more  from  each  other,  to  try  the 


26        EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

accuracy  of  their  aim,  on  bets  of  considerable 
amount. 

A  SINGULAR  ENCOUNTER. 

Wetzel's  fame  had  spread  far  and  wide 
through  the  adjacent  settlements  as  the  most 
expert  rifleman  of  the  day.  In  the  Spring  of 
the  year  A.  D.  1784,  it  chanced  that  a  young 
man,  a  few  years  younger  than  Wetzel,  who 
lived  on  the  waters  of  Dunkard's  Creek,  a 
tributary  of  the  Monongahela  River,  heard  of 
his  fame;  and  as  he  was  also  an  expert  woods- 
man and  a  first-rate  shot — the  best  in  his  set- 
tlement— he  became  very  desirous  of  an  oppor- 
tunity for  a  trial  of  skill.  So  great  was  his 
anxiety  that  he  very  early  one  morning  shoul- 
dered his  rifle,  and,  whistling  his  faithful  dog  to 
his  side,  started  for  the  neighborhood  of  Wetzel, 
who  then  lived  near  the  forks  of  Wheeling 
Creek,  a  distance  of  fifteen  or  twenty  miles, 
although  the  two  streams  rise  in  the  vicinity 
of  each  other. 


A   SINGULAR  ENC0UN1ER.  27 

When  about  half-way  on  his  journey  a  fine 
buck  started  up  just  before  him.  He  leveled 
his  rifle  with  his  usual  accuracy,  but  the  deer 
did  not  fall  dead  in  his  tracks,  although  mor- 
tally wounded.  His  stout  dog  soon  seized  him 
and  brought  him  to  the  ground;  but  while  in 
the  act  of  so  doing  another  dog  sprang  from 
the  forest  upon  the  same  deer,  and  his  master 
made  his  appearance  at  the  same  time  from 
behind  a  tree,  and  with  loud  voice  claimed  the 
deer  as  his  property;  having,  as  he  said,  been 
brought  down  by  his  shot,  and  seized  by  his 
dog. 

It  so  happened  that  they  had  both  fired  at 
the  same  instant  and  at  the  same  deer — a  fact 
which  may  very  well  happen  where  two  active 
men  are  hunting  on  the  same  ground,  although 
one  of  them  may  fire  at  fifty  yards  and  the 
other  at  double  that  distance.  The  dogs,  feel- 
ing a  similar  spirit  to  that  of  their  masters, 
soon  quit  the  deer,  which  was  already  dead, 
and  fell  to  worrying  and  tearing  each   other. 


28        EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

In  separating  the  dogs  the  stranger  hunter 
happened  to  strike  that  of  the  young  man. 
The  old  adage,  "Strike  my  dog,  strike  me," 
arose  in  full  force;  and  without  further  cere- 
mony, except  a  few  hasty  oaths,  he  fell  upon  the 
stranger  hunter  and  hurled  him  to  the  ground. 
This  was  no  sooner  done  than  he  found  him- 
self turned,  and  under  his  stronger  and  more 
powerful  antagonist. 

Perceiving  that  he  was  no  match  at  this  play, 
he  appealed  to  the  trial  by  rifle,  saying  it  was 
too  much  like  dogs  for  men  and  hunters  to 
fight  in  this  manner.  The  stranger  assented  to 
the  trial,  but  told  the  young  man  that  before 
he  proceeded  to  put  it  to  the  test  he  had  better 

witness  what  he  was  able  to  do  with  that  weapon ; 

• 
saying  that  he  was  as  much  superior  in  the  use 

of  the  rifle  as  he  was  in  bodily  strength.     In 

proof,  he  bid  him  place  a  mark  the  size  of  a 

dollar  on  the  side  of  a  huge  poplar  that  stood 

beside  them,  from  which  he  would  start  with 

his  rifle  unloaded,  and  running  a  hundred  yards 


RECOGNITION  AND   RECONCILIATION.  29 

| 

at  full  speed  he  would  load  it  as  he  ran,  and, 
wheeling,  discharge  it  instantly  to  the  center 
of  the  mark.  The  feat  was  no  sooner  proposed 
than  performed;  the  ball  striking  the  center  of 
the  diminutive  target. 

RECOGNITION   AND   RECONCILIATION. 

Astonished  at  his  skill,  his  antagonist  now 
inquired  his  name.  "Lewis  Wetzel,  at  your 
service,"  answered  the  stranger.  Forgetting 
his  animosity,  the  young  hunter  seized  him  by 
the  hand  with  all  the  ardor  of  youthful  admira- 
tion, and  at  once  acknowledged  his  own  inferi- 
ority. So  charmed  was  he  with  Wetzel's  frank- 
ness, skill,  and  fine  personal  appearance,  that 
he  insisted  on  his  returning  with  him  to  the 
Dunkard  settlement,  that  he  might  exhibit  his 
dexterity  to  his  own  family,  and  to  the  hardy 
backwoodsmen,  his  neighbors.  Nothing  loth 
to  such  an  exhibition,  and  pleased  with  the 
energy  of  his  new  acquaintance,  Wetzel  agreed 
to  accompany  him ;    shortening  the  way  with 


30        EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

their  mutual  tales  of  hunting  excursions,  and 
hazardous  contests  with  the  common  enemies 
of  the  country. 

TELLING  AN  INDIAN  BY  HIS   TRACKS. 

Among  other  things,  Wetzel  stated  his  man- 
ner of  distinguishing  the  footsteps  of  a  white 
man  from  those  of  an  Indian,  although  covered 
with  moccasins  and  intermixed  with  the  tracks 
of  the  savages.  He  had  acquired  this  tact 
from  closely  examining  the  manner  of  placing 
the  feet;  the  Indian  stepping  in  parallel  lines, 
and  first  bringing  the  toe  to  the  ground,  while 
the  white  man  almost  invariably  first  touches 
the  heel  to  the  earth,  and  places  the  feet  at  an 
angle  with  the  line  of  march. 

THEORY  TESTED. 

An  opportunity  they  little  expected  soon 
gave  him  a  chance  of  putting  his  skill  to  the 
trial.  On  reaching  the  young  man's  home, 
which   they    did   late    in    the    afternoon,    they 


THEORY   TrfSTED.  31 

found  the  dwelling  a  smoking  ruin,  and  all 
the  family  murdered  and  scalped  except  a 
young  woman,  who  had  been  brought  up  by 
his  parents,  and  to  whom  the  young  man  was 
tenderly  attached.  She  had  been  taken  away 
alive,  as  was  ascertained  by  examining  the  trail 
of  the  savages. 

Wetzel  soon  discovered,  by  a  close  inspection 
of  the  footmarks,  that  the  party  consisted  of 
three  Indians  and  a  renegade  white  man — an 
occurrence  not  uncommon  in  those  early  days, 
when  for  crime,  or  the  baser  purpose  of  revenge, 
the  white  outlaw  fled  to  the  savages,  and  was 
adopted  on  trial  into  their  tribe.  As  it  was 
late  in  the  day,  the  nearest  help  still  at  some 
considerable  distance,  and  as  there  were  only 
four  to  contend  with,  they  decided  on  imme- 
diate pursuit.  And,  moreover,  as  the  deed  had 
very  recently  been  done,  they  hoped  to  over- 
take them  in  their  camp  that  night,  or  perhaps 
before  they  could  cross  the  Ohio  River ;  to 
which  the  Indians  always  retreated  after  effect- 


32        EARLY  HISTORY  OF  VHE  NORTH-WEST. 

ing  a  successful  foray,  considering  themselves 
in  a  manner  safe  from  pursuit  when  they  had 
crossed  to  its  right  bank,  at  that  time  wholly 
occupied  by  the  Indian  tribes. 

THE   PURSUIT. 

Ardent  and  unwearied  was  the  pursuit;  the 
one  to  recover  his  lost  love,  and  the  other  to 
assist  his  new  friend,  and  take  revenge  for  the 
slaughter  of  his  countrymen — slaughter  and  re- 
venge being  at  that  period  the  daily  business 
of  the  borderers.  Wetzel  followed  the  trail  of 
the  retreating  savages  with  the  unerring  sa- 
gacity of  a  blood-hound,  and  just  at  dusk  traced 
them  to  the  Ohio,  some  miles  below  Wheeling, 
nearly  opposite  the  mouth  of  Captina  Creek. 
Much  to  their  disappointment,  they  soon  found 
that  the  Indians  had  crossed  the  river  by  con- 
structing a  raft  of  logs  and  brush — their  usual 
manner  of  passing  a  stream  when  at  a  distance 
from  their  villages.  By  carefully  examining 
"  the    signs "    on    the    opposite    shore,    Wetzel 


THE   ENEMY  OVERTAKEN.  33 

directly  discovered  the  fire  of  the  Indian  camp, 
in  a  hollow  way,  a  few  rods  from  the  river. 

THE   ENEMY  OVERTAKEN. 

Lest  the  noise  of  constructing  a  raft  should 
alarm  the  Indians,  and  give  notice  of  the  pur- 
suit, the  two  hardy  adventurers  determined  to 
swim  the  stream  a  few  rods  below.  This  they 
easily  accomplished,  being  both  excellent  swim- 
mers. Fastening  their  clothes  in  a  bundle  on 
the  tops  of  their  heads,  with  their  rifles  and 
ammunition  above,  they  reached  the  opposite 
shore  in  safety.  After  carefully  inspecting 
their  arms,  and  putting  every  article  of  attack 
or  defense  in  its  proper  place,  they  crawled 
very  cautiously  to  a  position  which  gave  them 
a  full  view  of  their  enemies;  who,  believing 
themselves  safe  from  pursuit,  were  carelessly 
reposing  around  the  fire,  thoughtless  of  the  fate 
that  awaited  them.  They  soon  discovered  the 
young  woman,  alive  and  seated  by  the  fire,  but 
making   much   moaning   and  complaint;    while 


34        EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

the  white  man,  whose  voice  they  could  dis- 
tinctly hear  from  their  position,  was  trying  to 
console  her  with  the  promise  of  kind  usage, 
and  an  adoption  into  the  tribe. 

The  young  man  could  hardly  restrain  his 
rage,  but  was  for  firing  and  rushing  instantly 
upon  the  foe.  Wetzel,  more  cautious,  told 
him  to  wait  till  daylight  appeared,  when  they 
could  make  the  attack  with  a  better  chance  of 
success,  and  of  also  killing  the  whole  party; 
while,  if  they  attacked  in  the  dark,  a  part  of 
them  would  certainly  escape. 

SKILLFUL  AND   SUCCESSFUL   ATTACK. 

With  the  earliest  dawn  the  Indians  arose 
and  prepared  to  depart.  The  young  man  se- 
lecting the  white  renegade,  and  Wetzel  one  of 
the  stoutest  Indians,  they  both  fired  at  the 
same  instant,  each  killing  his  man.  His  com- 
panion rushed  forward,  knife  in  hand,  to  release 
the  young  woman,  while  Wetzel  reloaded  his 
piece,  and  pushed  in  pursuit  of  the  two  Indians 


SKILLFUL   AND   SUCCESSFUL  ATTACK.         35 

who  had  taken  to  the  woods  till  they  could 
discover  the  number  of  their  enemies.  When 
he  found  he  was  seen  by  the  savages,  Wetzel 
discharged  his  rifle  at  random,  in  order  to  draw 
them  from  their  cover. 

Directly  they  heard  the  report  and  found 
themselves  unhurt,  they  rushed  upon  him  be- 
fore he  could  again  reload,  thinking  on  an  easy 
conquest.  Taking  to  his  heels,  he  loaded  his 
gun  as  he  ran,  unnoticed  by  his  pursuers,  and 
suddenly  wheeling  about  discharged  its  con- 
tents through  the  body  of  his  nearest  and 
unsuspecting  enemy.  The  remaining  Indian, 
seeing  the  fate  of  his  companion,  and  that  his 
antagonist's  gun  was  now  certainly  empty, 
rushed  forward  with  all  energy,  the  prospect 
of  revenge  fairly  before  him.  Wetzel  led  him 
on,  dodging  from  tree  to  tree,  till  his  rifle  was 
again  ready,  when,  suddenly  facing  about,  he 
shot  his  remaining  enemy  dead  at  his  feet. 
After  taking  their  scalps  and  recovering  the 
lost   plunder,  Wetzel  and  his   friend  returned 


36        EARLY  HISTORY  OF  1HE  NORTH-WEST. 

with  their  rescued   captive    unharmed   to   the 
settlements. 

DEATH   OF   WETZEL. 

Like  honest  Joshua  Fleehart,  after  the  peace 
of  1795,  the  country  becoming  filled  with  new 
settlers,  Wetzel  pushed  for  the  distant  frontiers 
on  the  Mississippi,  where  he  could  trap  the 
beaver,  hunt  the  buffalo  and  the  deer,  and  occa- 
sionally shoot  an  Indian,  whom  he  mortally 
hated.  He  died,  as  he  had  always  lived,  "a 
free  man  of  the  forest." 


OLD  FORT  M'lNTOSH.  37 


CHAPTER   III. 

BORDER    SETTLEMENTS. 
OLD  FORT  M'lNTOSH. 

At  the  close  of  the  foregoing  narrative,  the 
boat  had  reached  the  mouth  of  Beaver  River, 
where  I  disembarked  at  a  spot  called  "the 
Point,"  about  a  mile  from  Beavertown,  the 
county  seat  of  Beaver  county,  Pennsylvania. 
It  stands  near  the  site  of  old  Fort  M'Intosh, 
on  an  elevated  alluvion  of  several  square  miles 
in  extent,  composed  of  clay,  gravel,  and  large 
bowlders  of  sand  rock,  thrown  up  by  the  river 
in  ancient  ages,  but  which  has  subsequently 
retreated  to  its  present  bed,  some  eighty  or 
one  hundred  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  plain. 
This  elevated  alluvion  was  once  doubtless  the 
bed  of  the  Ohio.  It  is  now  covered  with  a 
fertile  soil,  and  was  clothed  with  forest  trees  at 

:ksl9i6 


38        EARLY  HISTORY 'OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

the  period  of  the  erection  of  Fort  M'Intosh, 
which  was  built  in  the  year  1778,  by  a  military 
force  from  the  garrison  at  Fort  Pitt,  under  the 
command  of  General  M'Intosh.  It  stood  near 
the  verge  of  the  plain,  commanding  a  view  of 
the  Ohio  River  and  the  mouth  of  Beaver.  The 
walls  of  the  fort  formed  a  square,  covering 
about  half  an  acre  of  ground,  regularly  stock- 
aded, and  built  of  timber  from  the  adjacent 
forest.  Here  were  four  bastions  mounted  with 
field  pieces,  from  four  to  nine  pounders,  one  in 
each  bastion,  and  two  in  the  center  of  the  fort. 
A  covered  way  led  down  to  the  river  for  the 
supply  of  water  for  the  troops,  and  to  protect 
them  from  the  attacks  of  the  Indians.  Fort 
M'Intosh  was  twenty-eight  miles  below  Fort 
Pitt,  and  was  a  rallying  point  for  the  borderers 
when  assembling  for  a  foray  against  the  Indian 
towns  on  the  Muskingum  and  Scioto  Rivers, 
and  also  for  the  pursuit  of  war  parties  when 
returning  from  their  depredations  on  the  white 
settlements.     I  love  to  linger  round  these  an- 


OLD   FORT  M'lNTOSII.  39 

cient  relics  of  by-gone  days,  and  call  up  the 
shades  of  the  departed  warriors  who  once  trav- 
ersed these  forests,  and  to  ruminate  on  the 
deeds,  both  of  the  battle  and  the  chase,  that 
excited  the  admiration  and  the  praise  of  their 
cotemporaries.  In  those  days  every  hunter  was 
also  a  warrior.  Their  neighborhood  was  a  fa- 
vorite haunt  with  the  savage,  both  on  account  of 
the  abundance  of  fish  found  below  the  falls  of 
the  Beaver,  and  for  the  fine  hunting  grounds  in 
the  vicinity.  It  was  also  geographically  favor- 
able for  ingress  to  the  white  settlements  on 
the  Monongahela  and  intermediate  country;  the 
Ohio  here  taking  a  wide  sweep  to  the  north- 
west, formed  a  semi-circle  or  peninsula,  to  which 
this  was  the  gate.  It  is  now  equally  favorable 
to  the  pursuits  of  civilization,  and  the  names 
and  the  feats  of  the  borderers  are  already  swal- 
lowed up  in  the  vortex  of  commercial  and  agri- 
cultural avocations.  Two  canals  and  a  railroad 
center  at  this  place,  and  already  several  large 
and  bustling  villages   have  sprung  up  on  the 


40        EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

banks  of  the  Beaver — Bridgewater,  about  a 
mile  from  the  mouth,  near  the  lower  bridge, 
and  Brighton  and  Fallstown,  five  miles  up  at 
the  falls  of  the  Beaver.  These  will  shortly  be 
towns  of  great  manufacturing  importance,  from 
the  double  advantage  of  one  of  the  finest  water 
privileges  in  the  State,  and  the  immense  de- 
posits of  coal  found  in  the  adjacent  hills.  A 
bed  of  cannel  coal,  lately  opened,  is  said  to  be 
twelve  feet  in  thickness. 

brady's  hill. 

At  eleven,  A.  M.,  I  took  a  seat  in  the  mail 
coach  for  Poland,  in  Trumbull  county,  Ohio, 
thirty-eight  miles  northerly  from  Beavertown. 
Directly  on  leaving  Bridgewater,  and  crossing 
a  small  stream  on  a  neat  bridge,  we  began  to 
ascend  a  long,  steep  hill,  called  "  Brady's  Hill." 
It  took  its  name  from  an  interesting  border 
adventure  which  occurred  near  its  base,  "in 
early  times,"  about  the  year  1777. 

Captain  Samuel  Brady  was  one  of  that  band 


brady's  hill.  41 

of  brave  men,  -who,  in  the  trying  days  of  the 
Revolutionary  war,  lived  on  the  western  borders 
of  Pennsylvania,  exposed  to  all  the  horrors  and 
dangers  of  Indian  warfare.  He  held  a  commis- 
sion from  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  and 
for  a  part  of  the  time  commanded  a  company  of 
rangers,  who  traversed  the  country  below  Pitts- 
burg, bordering  the  Ohio  River.  He  was  born,  as 
I  learn  from  one  of  his  sons,  in  Shippensburg, 
Cumberland  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  the  year 
1758,  and  must  have  removed  when  quite  young 
across  the  mountains  into  the  valley  of  the 
Mononganela  to  have  become  so  thoroughly 
versed  in  woodcraft  and  Indian  adventures.  He 
was  over  six  feet  in  hight,  remarkably  erect, 
and  active  in  his  movements,  with  light  blue 
eyes,  fair  skin,  and  dark  hair. 

In  personal  and  hand-to-hand  conflict  with 
the  Indians  he  is  said  to  have  exceeded  any 
other  man  west  of  the  mountains  excepting 
Daniel  Boone.  Several  interesting  sketches  were 
published  in  the  Blairsville  Recorder,  a  year  or 


& 


EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 


two  since,  detailing  some  of  his  adventures, 
which  in  the  hands  of  a  Weems  would  make  a 
most  interesting  volume.  At  the  period  of  this 
event,  Captain  Brady  lived  on  Chartier  Creek, 
about  twelve  miles  below  Pittsburg,  a  stream 
much  better  known,  however,  to  pilots  and  keel- 
boat  men  of  modern  days,  by  the  significant 
name  of  u  Shirtee"  He  had  become  a  bold  and 
vigorous  backwoodsman,  inured  to  all  the  toils 
and  hardships  of  a  borderer's  life,  and  very  ob- 
noxious to  the  savages  from  his  numerous  suc- 
cessful attacks  on  their  war  parties,  and  from 
shooting  them  in  his  hunting  excursions  when- 
ever they  crossed  his  path  or  came  within  reach 
of  his  rifle.  He  was  in  fact  that  which  many 
of  the  early  borderers  were,  "a*n  Indian  hater." 
His  hatred  was  not  without  cause — his  father, 
one  brother,  wife,  and  two  or  three  children 
having  been  slain  by  the  savages.  This  class 
of  men  seem  to  have  been  more  numerous  in 
the  region  of  the  Monongahela  than  in  any 
other  portion  of  the  frontiers,  which  doubtless 


TRAPPING   EXCURSION.  43 

arose  from  the  slaughter  at  Braddock's  defeat, 
and  the  numerous  murders  and  attacks  on  de- 
fenseless families  that  followed  that  defeat  for 
many  years.  Brady  was  also  a  very  successful 
trapper  and  hunter,  and  took  more  heaver  than 
any  of  the  Indians  themselves. 

TRAPPING  EXCURSION. 

In  one  of  his  adventurous  trapping  excur- 
sions on  the  waters  of  the  Beaver,  or  Mahon- 
ing, which  so  greatly  abounded  in  the  animals 
of  this  species  in  early  days  that  it  took  its 
name  from  this  fact,  it  so  happened  that  the 
Indians  surprised  him  in  his  camp  and  took 
him  prisoner.  To  have  shot  or  tomahawked 
him  on  the  spot  would  have  been  but  a  small 
gratification  to  that  of  satiating  their  revenge 
by  burning  him  at  a  slow  fire  after  having  run 
the  gantlet  in  presence  of  all  the  Indians  of 
their  village.  He  was  therefore  taken  alive  to 
their  encampment,  on  the  right  bank  of  the 
Beaver,  about  two  miles  from  its  mouth.    After 


44        EARLY  HISTORY  OP  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

the  usual  exultations  and  rejoicings  at  the  cap- 
ture of  a  noted  enemy,  and  the  ceremony  of 
the  gantlet  was  gone  through  with,  a  fire  was 
prepared  by  which  Brady  was  placed,  stripped 
naked,  and  his  arms  unbound.  Around  him  the 
Indians  formed  a  large  circle  of  men,  women, 
and  children,  dancing,  and  yelling,  and  uttering 
all  manner  of  threats  and  abuse.,  that  their 
small  knowledge  of  the  English  language  could 
afford,  previous  to  tying  him  to  the  stake. 
Brady  looked  on  these  preparations  for  death, 
and  on  his  savage  foes,  with  a  firm  countenance 
and  a  steady  eye,  meeting  all  their  threats  with 
a  truly-savage  fortitude. 

In  the  midst  of  their  dancing  and  rejoicing, 
the  squaw  of  one  of  their  chiefs  came  near  him 
with  a  child  in  her  arms.  Quick  as  thought, 
and  a  presence  of  mind  with  which  few  mortals 
are  gifted,  he  snatched  it  from  her  and  threw 
it  into  the  midst  of  the  flames.  Horror-struck 
at  the  sudden  transaction,  the  Indians  simul- 
taneously rushed  to  rescue  it  from  the  fire.     In 


TRAPPING  EXCURSION.  45 

the  midst  of  this  confusion  Brady  darted  from 
the  circle,  overturning  all  that  came  in  his  way, 
and  rushed  into  the  adjacent  thickets  with  the 
Indians  yelling  at  his  heels.  He  ascended  the 
steep  side  of  the  present  hill  amid  the  discharge 
of  fifty  rifles,  and  sprung  down  the  opposite 
declivity  into  the  deep  ravines  and  laurel  thick- 
ets that  abound  for  some  miles  to  the  west. 
His  knowledge  of  the  country,  and  wonderful 
activity  and  strength,  enabled  him  to  elude  his 
enemies,  and  reach  the  settlements  on  the  south 
side  of  the  Ohio. 

He  lived  many  years  after  this  escape,  and 
gratified  his  hatred  by  killing  numbers  of  his 
foes  in  the  several  rencounters  which  ensued. 
The  hill  near  whose  base  this  adventure  was 
achieved  still  goes  by  his  name,  and  the  inci- 
dent is  often  referred  to  by  the  traveler  as  the 
coach  is  slowly  dragged  up  its  side.  In  looking 
down  upon  the  laurel  thickets  which  still  cluster 
round  the  rugged  cliffs  of  sand  rock,  and  by 
their  evergreen  foliage  perpetuate  the  memory 


46        EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

of  Brady,  I  fancied  I  could  still  hear  the  shrill 
■whoop  of  the  savage,  as  he  pursued  with  des- 
perate energy  his  escaping  foe. 

NEW   CONNECTICUT. 

After  leaving  the  vicinity  of  Brady's  Hill 
the  road  passes  over  rather  a  hilly  country, 
which,  as  we  progress  northerly,  gradually  be- 
comes more  level.  The  whole  region  is  rich 
in  materials  for  legendary  lore,  many  of  which 
are  already  lost  in  the  lapse  of  time  and  the 
negligence  of  oral  tradition.  I  reached  Poland 
that  evening.  It  is  a  thriving  village,  located 
on  a  small  tributary  branch  of  the  Mahoning, 
in  the  south-east  corner  of  Trumbull  county, 
Ohio.  Th'e  soil,  climate,  and  face  of  the  coun- 
try constituting  what  is  called  "New  Connect- 
icut," and  of  which  this  county  forms  a  part, 
are  as  favorable  to  agriculture  as  any  portion 
of  Ohio.  The  inhabitants  are  chiefly  from  the 
State  of  Connecticut — that  land  of  industry  and 
economy.  * 


NEW  CONNECTICUT.  47 

The  improvements  already  made  show  that 
a  removal  to  the  West  has  in  no  way  dimin- 
ished their  habits  of  diligence  and  love  of  cul- 
tivation. Nearly  every  settler  is  the  owner  of 
the  soil  he  tills ;  and  in  no  portion  of  the  United 
States  is  there  a»more  uniform  equality  of  prop- 
erty or  union  in  supporting  measures  for  the 
promotion  of  the  public  weal.  School-houses 
are  seen  at  short  intervals  along  the  roads,  and 
well-built  churches  in  the  center  of  every  town, 
showing  that  the  two  great  pillars  of  the  Re- 
public— religion  and  learning — are  liberally  and 
carefully  sustained.  : 

Most  of  the  counties  in  New  Connecticut  are 
without  poor-houses,  and  in  several  of  them 
scarcely  a  single  individual  is  supported  at  the 
public  charge.  After  leaving  Trumbull  county 
we  enter  Portage  on  the  west,  so  named  from 
the  circumstance  of  the  grand  carrying  place, 
or  portage  between  the  waters  of  Lake  Erie 
and  the  Muskingum  River,  being  within  this 
county.  » 


48        EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 


RAVENNA. 

Ravenna  is  the  county  seat,  and  is  a  beau- 
tiful village,  fast  rising  into  importance.  It 
stands  directly  on  the  dividing  line  between 
the  waters  of  the  Ohio  and  thos'e  of  Lake  Erie ; 
so  that  while  one  portion  of  the  rain  which 
falls  within  the  village  runs  into  the  Cuyahoga 
and  is  discharged  finally  into  the  Gulf  of  the 
St.  Lawrence,  another  part  falls  into  the  Mahon- 
ing and  finds  its  way  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 
West  of  Ravenna  the  country  becomes  more 
undulating  and  studded  with  low  hills,  com- 
posed of  gravel,  sand,  and  primitive  bowlders, 
washed  into  deep  hollows,  as  if  some  mighty 
current  had  swept  over  it.  Many  of  these 
concavities  are  now  occupied  by  beautiful  sheets 
of  limpid  water,  covering  several  hundred  acres. 
They  are  generally  bordered  with  low  green 
hills,  or  grassy  slopes,  calling  to  mind  the  liv- 
ing simile  of  a  beautiful  pearl  surrounded  by 
emeralds. 


brady's  pond.  49 


' BRADY S    POND. 


On  the  margin  of  a  very  fine  pond,  "which 

lies  near  the  road  from  Ravenna  to  the  Falls 

of  the  Cuyahoga,  I*  stopped  a  considerable  time, 

searching  for  shells,  and  musing  on  the  various 

events  that  had  transpired  on  its  borders,  and 

to  which  it  had  been  a  silent,  but  still  living, 

witness  in  by-gone  ages.     The  shore  is  covered 

■with   fine    white    sand,   sparkling  with    minute 

scales  of  mica.     It  is  called  "Brady's  Pond," 

and  lies  about  three  miles  east  of  the  Falls  of 

the  Cuyahoga.    It  is  noted  as  the  scene  of  a 

thrilling  adventure,   in  .which  the  man  whose 

name  it  bears  was  a  principal  actor.     This  pond, 

with  two  others  adjacent,  I  am  told,  will  soon  be 

swallowed  up  in  the  great  reservoir  of  the  Ohio 

and  Pennsylvania  Canal,  lying  on  the  summit 

between    the    Mahoning    and    Cuyahoga.    •  As 

many    private    advantages    and    comforts    have 

to   be   sacrificed   on  the   altar   of  public   good 

when  necessity  requires,  so  the  lovers  of  leg- 
4 


50        EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

endary  lore,  and  of  places  hallowed  by  striking 
events,  must  also  give  up  this  pond  on  similar 
principles. 

"brady's  leap." 

Samuel  Brady  seems  to  have  been  as  much 
the  hero  of  the  north-east  portion  of  the  valley 
of  the  Ohio  as  Daniel  Boone  was  of  the  south- 
west; and  the  country  is  as  full  of  his  hardy 
adventures  and  hair-breadth  escapes,  although 
he  yet  lacks  the  industrious  pen  of  a  Flint  to 
collect  and  to  clothe  them  in  that  fascinating 
language  so  peculiar  to  his  style.  From  un- 
doubted authority  it  se.ems  the  following  inci- 
dents actually  transpired  in  this  vicinity. 

Brady's  residence  was  in  that  part  of  Penn- 
sylvania now  called  Washington  county,  as 
noted  in  the  "legend  of  Brady's  Hill;"  and 
being  a  man  of  uncommon  activity  and  cour- 
age, as  well  as  very  superior  intellectual  facul- 
ties, he  was  generally  selected  as  the  leader  of 
the  hardy  borderers  in  all  their  forays  and  pur- 


"  brady's  leap."  51 

suits  into  the  Indian  territories  north  of  the 
Ohio.  On  this  occasion,  which  was  about  the 
year  1780,  a  large  party  of  Indian  warriors, 
from  the  Falls  of  the  Cuyahoga  and  adjacent 
country,  had  made  an  inroad  on  to  the  south 
side  of  the  Ohio  River,  in  that  part  of  Wash- 
ington county  then  known  as  the  settlement  of 
"Catfish  Camp,"  so  called  after  an  old  Indian 
warrior  of  that  name,  who  lived  there  when  the 
whites  first  came  into  the  country,  on  the  Mo- 
nongahela  River.  This  party  had  murdered 
several  families,  and  with  the  plunder  had  re- 
crossed  the  Ohio  before  effectual  pursuit  could 
be  made. 

Directly  after  the  alarm  was  given  Brady 
collected  his  chosen  followers,  and  hastened  on 
in  pursuit;  but  the  Indians  having  a  day  or 
more  the  start  before  a  sufficient  party  could 
be  gathered,  he  was  unable  to  overtake  them 
in  time  to  arrest  their  return  to  their  villages. 

Near  the  spot  where  the  town  of  Ravenna 
now    stands    the   Indians    separated    into    two 


52        EARLY  HISTORY  OP  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

parties;  one  of  which  went  to  the  north,  and 
the  other  west  to  the  Falls  of  the  Cuyahoga. 
Brady's  men  also  divided;  a  part  pursued  the 
northern  trail,  and  the  remainder  went  with 
him  to  the  Indian  village  lying  on  the  river, 
in  the  present  township  of  Northampton,  in 
Portage  county.  Although  he  made  his  ap- 
proaches with  the  utmost  caution,  yet  the  In- 
dians, expecting  a  pursuit,  were  on  the  look- 
out, and  ready  to  receive  him  with  numbers 
fourfold  to  those  of  Brady's  party.  Their  only 
safety,  after  a  few  hasty  shots,  was  in  retreat, 
which  soon  became,  from  the  ardor  of  the  pur- 
suit, a  perfect  flight.  Brady  directed  his  men 
to  separate,  and  each  one  to  take  care  of  him- 
self. The  Indians  immediately  knew  him  from 
his  voice;  and  having  a  most  inveterate  hatred 
of  him  for  his  former  numerous  injuries,  left 
all  the  other  borderers  and  pursued  him  with 
united  strength.  The  Cuyahoga  here  makes  a 
wide  bend  to  the  south,  including  a  large  tract 
of  several  miles  of  surface,  like  a  peninsula; 


"  brady's  leap."  53 

within  this  tract  the  pursuit  was  hotly  con- 
tested. 

The  Indians,  by  extending  their  line  to  the 
right  and  left,  forced  him  on  to  the  banks  of 
the  stream.  Having,  in  peaceable  times,  often 
hunted  over  this  ground  with  the  Indians,  and 
knowing  every  turn  of  the  Cuyahoga  as  famil- 
iarly as  the  villager  the  streets  of  his  town,  he 
directed  his  course  for  the  river  .at  a  spot  where 
the  whole  stream  is  compressed  by  the  rocky 
cliffs  into  a  narrow  channel  of  only  twenty-two 
feet  across  the  top  of  the  chasm;  although  it 
is  considerably  wider  beneath,  and  much  more 
than  that  in  hight  above  the  current.  Through 
this  pass  the  water  rushes  like  a  race-horse, 
chafing  and  roaring  at  its  confinement  by  the 
rocky  channel.  A  short  distance  above,  the 
stream  is  at  least  fifty  yards  wide.  Brady,  as 
he  approached  the  chasm,  concentrating  his 
mighty  powers,  knowing  that  life  or  death  was 
in  the  effort,  leaped  the  pass  at  a  bound. 

It  so  happened  that  a  low  place  in  the  oppo 


54        EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

site  cliff  favored  the  leap,  into  which  he  dropped, 
and,  grasping  the  bushes,  helped  himself  to  as- 
cend to  the  top  of  the  precipice.  The  Indians 
for  a  few  moments  were  lost  in  wonder  and 
admiration,  and  before  they  had  recovered  their 
recollection  he  was  half-way  up  the  side  of  the 
opposite  hill,  but  still  within  reach  of  rifle-shot. 
They  could  have  easily  shot  him  before,  but 
being  bent  on  taking  him  alive  for  torture,  and 
to  glut  their  long-delayed  revenge,  they  fore- 
bore  the  use  of  the  rifle;  but  now,  seeing  him 
likely  to  escape,  they  all  fired  upon  him.  One 
shot  wounded  him  severely  in  the  hip,  but  not 
so  badly  as  to  prevent  his  progress.  The  In- 
dians having  to  make  a  considerable  circuit 
before  they  could  cross  the  river,  Brady  gained 
a  good  distance  ahead;  but  his  wound  growing 
stiff,  and  the  enemy  now  gaining  on  him,  he 
made  for  the  pond  which  still  bears  his  name, 
and,  plunging  into  the  water,  swam  beneath  the 
surface  for  some  distance,  till  he  came  up  under 
the  trunk  of  a  large  oak-tree,  which  had  fallen 


"brady's  leap."  55 

into  the  pond.  This  completely  covered  him 
from  observation,  but  furnished  a  small  breath- 
ing place  to  support  life.  The  Indians  tracked 
him  by  the  blood  to  the  margin  of  the  water; 
made  diligent  search  all  round  the  pond;  but, 
finding  no  signs  of  his  exit,  finally  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  he  had  sunk  from  the  quantity 
of  water  taken  in  at  the  wound. 

They  were  at  one  time  standing  on  the  very 
trunk  of  the  tree  beneath  wtich  he  lay  con- 
cealed. Brady,  understanding  their  language, 
was  very  glad  to  hear  the  result  of  their  argu- 
ment; and  after  they  had  gone  he  made  good 
his  retreat,  lame  and  hungry,  to  his  home. 
His  followers  also  all  returned  in  safety.  The 
chasm  over  which  he  leaped  is  in  sight  of  the 
bridge  where  we  crossed  the  Cuyahoga,  and 
is  known  in  all  that  region  by  the  name  of 
"Brady's  Leap." 


56        EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

INCIDENTS  ON  THE   BOEDEE. 
FALLS   OF   THE   CUYAHOGA. 

"Cuyahoga,"  in  the  language  of  the  Dela- 
ware Indians,  means  "brooked."  The  Falls 
are  situated  on  the  south  bend  of  the  river, 
in  Portage — now  Summit — county,  thirty  miles 
from  Lake  Erie.  The  stream  here,  making  a 
wide  sweep  southerly,  touches  the  northern 
margin  of  the  coal  measures,  and  is  said  to  be 
the  only  lake  river  that  has  coal  on  its  shores. 
That  portion  of  it  called  "the  Falls"  is  more 
than  two  miles  in  extent,  and  has  a  descent  of 
nearly  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  feet  from 
the  head  to  the  foot  of  the  rapids.  During  its 
passage  down  this  declivity,  the  water,  in  various 
places,  falls  from  ten  and  fifteen  to  twenty-two 
feet  at  a  single  leap ;  at  others,  it  rushes  down 


FALLS   OF  THE   CUYAHOGA.  57 

an  inclined  plane,  strewed  with  fragments  of 
rock's,  so  that  a  continued  roar  is  heard  the 
whole  distance.  In  the  course  of  ages  the 
water  has  cut  away  the  rock  strata  to  the 
depth  of  nearly  two  hundred  feet. 

Immense  masses  of  sand  rock  still  continue 
to  fall,  from  year  to  year,  as  the  water  under- 
mines the  cliffs,  and  the  wintery  frosts  loosen 
them  from  their  beds.  In  one  place  a  huge 
mass,  of  fifty  feet  in  hight  and  one  hundred  or 
more  in  length,  has  formed  an  island,  around 
the  sides  of  which  the  water  rushes  and  foams 
with  great  fury.  Several  large  pines  and  hem- 
locks have  found  a  footing  on  its  top  and 
sides,  casting  a  youthful  freshness  over  its 
hoary  front.  The  margins  of  the  cliffs  are 
lined  with  beautiful  evergreens  of  several  spe- 
cies. The  Falls  afford  one  of  the  finest  natural 
sections  for  the  geologist.  The  rock  strata, 
being  accessible  from  the  tops  of  the  adjacent 
hills  to  the  bed  of  the  river,  give  the  order 
of  superposition   in   a   very   beautiful   manner. 


58        EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

Among  the  series  is  a  thick  bed  of  red  sand- 
stone, very  suitable  for  architectural  purposes. 
The  rapid  water  at  the  foot  of  the  Falls  afforded 
a  favorite  and  very  valuable  site  for  fishing  to 
all  the  Indians  of  this  vicinity. 

INDIAN  FISHERIES. 

In  the  Spring  of  the  year  the  Cuyahoga  and 
other  lake  streams,  especially  such  as  communi- 
cated with  ponds,  were  literally  alive  with  fish, 
especially  that  species  known  to  Western  sports- 
men by  the  name  of  white  fish.  This  fish  is 
peculiar  to  the  lakes,  and  is  the  coreganus  albus 
of  Lesear.  The  savage  of  the  Atlantic  coast 
was  not  more  favored  in  this  respect  than  he 
of  the  shores  of  Lake  Erie.  The  fish-spear, 
plunged  at  a  venture  into  the  water,  brought 
out  two  or  three  fish  at  each  throw. 

I  have  been  told  by  a  man,  now  living  in 
Marietta — Mr.  Joseph  Kelly — and  who  was  a 
prisoner  when  a  boy  with  the  Shawnee  Indians 
for  several  years,  that  the  fish  in  these  streams 


JOSEPH   KELLY,  OR  THE   LOST   SON.  59 

were  astonishingly  numerous.  At  the  season 
of  fishing — which  commenced  in  April  and  con- 
tinued for  several  weeks — every  man,  woman, 
and  boy  of  the  whole  village  were  called  out. 
The  men  were  occupied  in  spearing  or  taking 
them  with  hooks,  and  the  women  and  boys  in 
cleaning  and  drying  them  on  frames  over  a  fire 
of  brush-wood,  in  the  same  manner  that  jerked 
venison  is  prepared.  Having  no  salt,  they  re- 
quired a  thorough  drying  and  smoking  to  pre- 
serve them  from  decay,  and  to  supply  food 
during  the  Summer  months  when  hunting  was 
poor.  These  fishing  grounds  were  given  up 
with  great  reluctance  by  the  savages  to  the 
more  powerful  claimants  of  their  "father-land" — 
the  whites.  But  might  has  too  often  usurped 
the  place  of  right,  in  modern  as  well  as  in  more 
rude  and  barbarian  times. 

JOSEPH   KELLY,  OR  THE   LOST   SON. 

Joseph  Kelly,  the  person  above  referred  to, 
was  taken  a  prisoner  by  the  Shawnee  Indians, 


60        EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH  -WEST. 

on  the  7th  of  April,  1791,  when  only  seven 
years  old.  He  was  then  living  in  a  garrison 
at  Belleville,  thirty  miles  below  Marietta,  on 
the  left  bank  of  the  Ohio.  He  had  gone  out 
very  early  in  the  morning,  with  his  father  and 
another  brother,  to  a  field  near  the  walls  of  the 
fort,  to  finish  some  planting.  His  father  was  a 
man  of  uncommon  muscular  power,  but  con- 
siderably deaf;  so  that  he  was  not  aware  of 
the  approach  of  the  Indians  till  one  of  them 
had  seized  him,  although  little  Joseph,  who  was 
near  him,  hallooed  with  all  his  might.  The  In- 
dian who  had  grasped  him  around  the  waist  as 
he  was  stooping  down  to  his  work  he  instantly 
pitched,  heels  over  head,  for  more  than  two 
rods,  and  defended  himself  so  stoutly  with  his 
hoe,  having  no  other  weapon,  that  the  Indians 
were  obliged  to  shoot  him,  altbough  their  design 
evidently  was  to  take  him  prisoner.  In  the 
midst  of  this  struggle  and  alarm  one  Indian 
was  killed  by  a  shot  from  the  garrison,  which 
consisted  of  only  five  men,  with  several  women 


JOSEPH   KELLY,  (,  R  THE  LOST   SON.  61 

and  children.  The  mother  of  little  Joseph  was 
an  agonized  spectator  of  the  scene,  and  of  the 
escape  of  another  son,  two  years  older,  who, 
although  in  the  same  field,  happened  to  see  the 
Indians  sooner,  and  reached  the  garrison.  Two 
Indians  seized  Joseph,  one  by  each  hand,  and, 
tossing  him  over  the  fence,  hurried,  or  rather 
flew,  with  him  through  the  woods,  out  of  reach 
of  the  shot  from  the  men  in  the  garrison — 
among  whom  was  Peter  Anderson,  a  noted 
ranger  and  woodsman.  As  soon  as  the  Indians 
reached  a  place  of  safety,  they  mustered  their 
party,  who  were  scattered  about  in  the  forest 
on  different  sides  of  the  fort,  and  amounted  to 
thirty  warriors,  assembled  on  purpose  to  take 
the  garrison  of  Belleville,  and  destroy  the  in- 
habitants. 

Having  a  prisoner  now  in  their  possession, 
they  proceeded  to  question  him  as  to  the  num- 
ber in  the  fort.  This  the^  accomplished  by 
the  aid  of  a  renegade  white  man,  with  red  hair 
and  a  freckled  face,  who  had  joined  the  Indians. 


62        EARLY  HISTORY  OP  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

When  asked  by  this  white  savage,  whose  fea- 
tures he  perfectly  remembers  to  this  day,  after 
the  lapse  of  forty-five  years,  how  many  men 
there  were  in  the  fort,  little  Joseph,  with  won- 
derful presence  of  mind,  or  the  whim  of  the 
moment,  answered  "that  it  was  full  of  men 
with  guns,  at  least  as  many  as  a  hundred." 
This  answer,  from  the  well-known  innocence 
and  simplicity  of  childhood,  intimidated  the  In- 
dians, and  probably  saved  the  garrison,  as  they 
soon  after  crossed  the  river,  and  commenced  a 
retreat  to  their  town  near  the  Sandusky  Bay. 
This  they  reached  after  a  few  days  of  tedious 
marching,  and  placed  their  prisoner  in  the  coun- 
cil-house, according  to  custom,  till  the  warriors 
and  old  men  had  decided  on  his  fate. 

In  this  instance  the  decision  was  on  the  side 
of  mercy;  for  little  Joseph  was  adopted  into 
the  family  of  an  old  veteran  warrior,  who  now 
had  no  children,  but  had,  in  different  engage- 
ments, lost  five  sons  by  the  hands  of  white  men. 
The  old  warrior's  name  was  "Mishalena,"  and 


JOSEPH   KELLY,  OR   THE   LOST   SON.  .         63 

Mr.  Kelly  says  he  was  one  of  the  most  kind- 
hearted  and  benevolent  men  he  has  ever  met 
with  in  his  whole  life,  as  well  as  of  the  most 
noble  and  commanding  appearance.  His  wife's 
name  was  "Petepsa,"  a  thick-set,  burly  old 
woman,  with  her  hair  always  at  sixes  and 
sevens.  After  losing  five  sons,  these  untu- 
tored natives  of  the  forest  adopted  the  child 
of  their  mortal  enemies,  and  treated  him  as 
their  own!  What  a  lesson  to  the  professors 
of  Christianity! 

Petepsa  was  naturally  ill-natured  and  diffi- 
cult to  please,  and  treated  him,  as  she  probably 
always  did  her  own  children,  rather  harshly. 
But '  he  was  always  well  fed  when  they  had 
any  thing  to  eat,  and  carefully  nursed  when 
sick,  as  he  was  in  the  Summer  of  1794,  with 
a  severe  attack  of  dysentery.  He  distinctly 
recollects  that  Petepsa  gave  him  as  a  medi- 
cine the  decoction  of  a  very  bitter  herb,  which 
he  has  since  ascertained  from  the  taste  was 
eupatoiium   perfoliatum,    or    "  Indian    sage " — 


64        EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

known  also  by  the  names  of  "  thorough  wort " 
and  "boneset" — a  very  effectual  remedy  for 
bowel  complaints. 

Little  Joseph  soon  became  reconciled  to  his 
situation,  although  his  thoughts  often  returned 
at  night,  while  lying  on  his  bear-skin  bed  before 
the  wigwam  fire,  to  his  kind-hearted  mother, 
and  his  little  brothers  and  sisters.  But  time 
and  habit  gradually  accustomed  him  to  his  new 
acquaintances,  and  old  friends  were  nearly  for- 
gotten in  the  attachments  he  had  now  formed 
for  his  new  ones.  Whether  covered  by  a  red, 
black,  or  white  skin,  the  human  heart  is  the 
same,  and  meets  a  kindred  feeling  in  all  that 
wear  "the  human  face  divine."  In  childhood 
our  affections  are  like  the  softened  wax,  and 
are  easily  molded  to  suit  the  circumstances 
around  us.  The  sports  of  the  young  Indian 
boys,  who  treated  him  as  a  brother,  attracted 
his  attention;  and  he  directly  became  as  expert 
in  the  use  of  the  bow  and  arrow,  and  as  active 
in  foot-races,  ball,  etc.,  as  the  best  of  them. 


JOSEPH   KELLY,  OR   THE   LOST   SON.  65 

His  appetite  being  good,  and  possessing  a  vig- 
orous frame,  their  food  and  cooking  were  fully 
as  acceptable  to  his  palate  as  that  of  his  former 
home. 

In  this  way  four  years  passed  off,  during 
which  time  the  war  still  continued,  and  with 
almost  unvaried  success  on  the  side  of  the  In- 
dians. During  this  period  the  armies  of  Har- 
mar  and  St.  Clair  had  been  defeated,  and  de- 
struction and  desolation  threatened  the  whole 
of  the  frontier  settlements.  At  length  "Mad 
Anthony,"  that  "thunderbolt  of  war,"  turned 
the  tide  of  battle,  and  gave  the  Indians  a  signal 
defeat.  The  near  approach  of  his  army  drove 
the  Indians,  consisting  of  women  and  children, 
and  a  few  old  men,  in  great  haste  from  the 
village  in  which  little  Joseph  was  then  living, 
near  the  mouth  of  the  River  Auglaize.  So 
unexpected  was  the  advance  of  General  Wayne 
that  they  had  no  time  to  take  any  provisions, 
and  only  a  few  kettles  and  blankets,  but  hurry- 
ing into  their  canoes  pushed  off  down  the  Mau- 
5 


66        EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

mee  into  the  vicinity  of  Detroit.  It  was  in  the 
month  of  August,  1794,  and  Mr.  Kelly  re- 
members well  with  what  regret  they  left  their 
fine  fields  of  corn,  which  he  had  assisted  to 
cultivate,  already  fit  for  roasting  ears,  the 
beans,  and  the  squashes,  with  large  patches  of 
water-melons. 

It  was  just  at  evening  when  they  abandoned 
their  village  surrounded  by  plenty:  the  next 
morning  sun  rose  upon  its  ruins.  That  night 
the  American  army  destroyed  all  their  crops; 
cutting  down  and  wasting  the  corn,  and  burn- 
ing the  dwellings  where  their  forefathers  had 
lived  for  many,  many  years.  The  suffering 
from  hunger  and  cold  the  following  Winter 
was  very  great,  but  borne  by  the  Indians  with 
philosophical  equanimity.  The  poor  savage  will 
cease  to  suffer  from  the  wrongs  of  the  white 
man  only  when  he  ceases  to  exist.  A  few  brief ' 
years,  and  the  whole  aboriginal  race  will  have 
vanished  from  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi 
beyond  the  mountains. 


TREATY  WITH  THE  INDIANS.       67 
TREATY  WITH  THE  INDIANS. 

At  the  treaty  of  Greenville,  in  1795,  it  was 
stipulated  that  all  white  prisoners  living  with 
the  Indians  should  be  restored.  Colonel  Meigs, 
father  of  the  late  governor,  was  acting  at  the 
treaty,  and  being  well  acquainted  with  the 
circumstances  of  the  captivity  of  Joseph — he 
living  in  Marietta  at  that  time — made  daily 
inquiries  after  him  from  every  new  Indian  face 
that  he  could  see;  but  for  a  long  time  without 
success.-  It  seems  that  young  Kelly,  and  a  boy 
named  "Bill,"  from  Kentucky,  whose  family  had 
all  been  killed,  were  kept  back,  from  the  reluct- 
ance their  present  parents  felt  to  part  with 
them — having  become  greatly  attached  to  the 
boys,  considering  them  as  their  own.  At  length 
he  heard  of  a  boy  of  a  similar  age  on  the  River 
Raisin,  several  days'  march  from  Greenville, 
and  obtained  an  order  from  General  Wayne  to 
send  out  a  party  of  six  men  and  an  Indian 
£ruid<\  for.  the  express  purpose  of  bringing  them 


68        EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

in.  Little  Joseph  parted  from  his  Indian  par- 
ents with  nearly  as  much  regret  as  he  had 
formerly  done  from  his  white  ones;  and  poor 
Mishalena  and  Petepsa  were  now  left  in  their 
old  age  like  two  ancient  forest  trees,  around 
whose  roots  no  green  shoot  appears. 

Directly  after  reaching  Greenville,  and  Col- 
onel Meigs  had  got  him  into  his  possession,  he 
started  with  a  party  by  land,  in  February, 
across  the  swamps  for  Marietta;  so  anxious 
was  this  good  and  kind-hearted  man  to  restore 
the  lost  Joseph  to  the  arms  of  his  sorrowing 
and  widowed  mother.  A  young  Indian  guided 
the  travelers,  without  deviation,  through  the 
trackless  forests,  and  struck  the  Muskingum 
River  at  "Big  Rock,"  twenty-four  miles  above 
Marietta,  and  near  the  settlement  of  "Wolf 
Creek  Mills." 

INDIAN   TACT. 

As  a  specimen  of  Indian  tact  in  pursuing 
a    course    through   the   wilderness,   Mr.   Kelly 


INDIAN  TACT.  69 

says,  that  one  cloudy  and  snowy  day  the  party 
became  a  little  bewildered  in  a  thick  beech 
woods.  Colonel  Meigs  produced  his  compass, 
and,  setting  it,  insisted  their  course  lay  east. 
The  Indian,  after  examining  the  trees  a  few 
minutes,  pointed  to  the  south-east.  The  Colonel 
still  sticking  for  the  authority  of  the  compass, 
was  unwilling  to  proceed.  The  Indian  at  length 
became  vexed,  and  shouldering  his  rifle,  mut- 
tered in  broken  English,  "dam'  compass,"  and 
pursued  his  own  course.  In  a  short  time  it 
proved  him  to  be  right  and  Colonel  Meigs  in 
the  wrong.  They  reached  "  Campus  Martius," 
the  stockaded  fort  at  Marietta  in  safety;  and 
the  fervent  and  oft-repeated  prayer  of  the 
widowed  mother  was  at  length  answered  in  the 
restoration  of  her  "lost  son."* 

*Note. — While  these  pages  are  passing  through  the  press — 
midsummer,  1864 — Joseph  Kelly,  whose  captivity  is  here 
mentioned,  departed  this  life  stt  Marietta,  aged  eighty  years. 
He  was  a  native  of  Plainfield,  Massachusetts,  and  was  brought 
by  his  father  to  Marietta,  when  four  years  old,  in  the  Spring 
of  1789.     In  1790  the  family  removed  to  Belleville,  West  Va., 


70        EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 


CUYAHOGA  FALLS. 

But  to  return  to  the  Falls  of  the  Cuyahoga. 
The  location  of  this  spot  is  more  favorable  for 
manufactures  than  any  other  in  Ohio.  The 
fall  is  so  great  that  the  water  can  be  used  over 
and  over  again,  in  turning  machinery,  before  it 
reaches  the  foot  of  the  descent.  The  advantage 
of  two  railroads  and  canals  in  the  vicinity  will 
facilitate  the  transport  of  the  raw  materials  and 
the  distribution  of  the  manufactured  articles  to 
all  parts  of  the  West.  The  center  of  a  fertile 
and  healthy  region  will  add  all  the  facilities  of 
agriculture  to  feed  the  artisans.  Several  vil- 
lages have  sprung  up  on  both  sides  of  the  falls, 
and  the  foundations  of  wealth  are  already  laid. 
To    this   add   the   water-power    on   the    Little 

where  he  was  captured.  He  remained  with  the  Indians  till 
the  Winter  of  1795-6,  nearly  five  years,  when  he  was  released. 
He  had  lost  the  English  language,  and  left  his  Indian  parents 
with  regret.  He  arrived  in  Marietta  in  March,  1796,  and  was, 
as  the  narrative  records,  restored  to  his  mother. — Editor. 


FORT  LAURENS.  71 

Cuyahoga,  and  that  of  the  Akron,  and  no  spot 
can  combine  more  advantages. 

TUSCARAWAS. 

In  passing  down  south  from  the  summit  level 
at  Akron,  the  canal  traverses  some  fine  ponds, 
which  are  used  both  for  transportation  and  for 
feeders.  These  were  once  stocked  with  the  half- 
reasoning  beaver,  which,  like  the  tribes  of  abo- 
rigines, have  disappeared  at  the  approach  of  the 
white  man.  Several  branches  flow  from  these 
ponds,  which  soon  uniting  form  that  beautiful 
stream,  the  Tuscarawas.  It  takes  its  name  from 
a  powerful  tribe  of  Indians  who  once  resided  on 
its  borders. 

FORT  LAURENS. 

The  canal  proceeds  down  the  valley  of  this 
river,  and  after  crossing  the  northern  boundary 
of  Tuscarawas  county,  passes  through  the  ruins 
of  old  Fort  Laurens,  one  flank  of  which  rested 
on  the  river.     It  was  named  by  the  builders  in 


72        EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

honor  of  Colonel  Laurens,  of  South  Carolina, 
then  a  prisoner  in  the  Tower  of  London,  and 
one  of  the  most  patriotic  men  of  that  day.  In 
the  eleventh  edition  of  the  Ohio  Gazetteer,  the 
township  in  which  the  ruins  are  located  is  called 
Lawrence,  as  if  named  for  Captain  Lawrence, 
of  the  United  States  Navy,  which  has  probably 
been  done  by  mistake. 

The  ditch  and  parapets  are  yet  plainly  seen, 
covering  about  an  acre  of  ground,  but  the  stout 
wooden  walls  were .  long  since  burned  by  the 
Indians  in  whose  territory  it  was  seated.  The 
fort  stood  on  an  elevated  plain  near  the  right 
bank  of  the  river,  a  little  below  Sandy  Creek, 
which  puts  in  on  the  opposite  shore,  and  was 
built  in  the  Autumn  of  the  year  1778,  by  a 
detachment  of  a  thousand  men  from  Fort  Pitt 
and  vicinity,  under  the  command  of  General 
M'Intosh.  A  garrison  of  one  hundred  and 
eighty  men  was  left  in  the  fort  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  frontier,  under  the  order  of 
Colonel  Gibson. 


SIEGE  OF  FORT  LAURENS.        73 
SiEGE  OF  FORT  LAURENS. 

As  soon  as  the  Indians  were  aware  of  its 
erection  they  besieged  it  with  an  army  of  eight 
hundred  warriors,  and  as  they  could  not  carry 
it  by  assault,  were  determined  to  subdue  it  by 
famine.  For  this  purpose  they  closely  encircled 
it  for  six  weeks,  in  the  beginning  of  Winter, 
suffering  no  one  to  go  out  or  to  enter  into  the 
fort.  By  this  time  the  stores  of  the  garrison 
were  nearly  exhausted,  and  famine  stared  them 
in  the  face.  The  Indians  suspecting  their  con- 
dition, and  being  still  more  destitute  themselves, 
proposed  to  Colonel  Gibson,  that  if  he  would 
give  them  a  barrel  of  flour  and  some  tobacco, 
they  would  raise  the  siege,  thinking  by  this 
to  learn  the  state  of  their  stores.  The  flour 
was  rolled  out  and  the  Indians  departed. 

RELIEF   OF   THE   GARRISON. 

Soon  after  a  detachment  from  Fort  M'Intbsh 
brought  a  supply  of  provisions.     Although  the 


74        EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

main  body  of  Indians  left  them,  yet  small  par- 
ties still  continued  to  linger  around  the  fort, 
•watching  for  stragglers.  Some  time  in  January, 
1779,  during  very  severe  cold  weather,  a  party 
of  men,  seventeen  in  number,  were  ordered  out 
very  early  in  the  morning  to  bring  in  fire-wood, 
which  was  cut  for  the  use  of  the  garrison  before 
the  army  left  in  the  Fall.  The  men  had  been 
out  for  several  preceding  mornings,  and  no 
signs  of  Indians  being  seen  for  some  time  they 
were  not  very  careful.  The  wood  lay  near  an 
ancient  tumulus  or  mound,  not  far  from  the 
walls  of  the  garrison,  behind  which  a  party  of 
Indians  lay  concealed.  As  the  soldiers  passed 
round  on  one  side  of  the  mound,  a  part  of  the 
Indians  came  behind  them  on  the  other  side,* 
and  inclosed  the  wood  party,  killing  and  scalp- 
ing the  whole  of  them.  My  informant,  Henry 
Jolly,  Esq.,  was  acquainted  with  some  of  the 
men,  and  assisted  in  burying  them  when  he 
came  on  with  the  relief  from  Fort  M'Intosh, 
in  the  Spring  following. 


RELIEF   OF   THE   GARRISON.  75 

The  garrison  suffered  so  much  from  constant 
attacks,  and  the  difficulty  and  hazard  of  keep- 
ing up  a  fort  in  the  enemy's  country  at  a  dis- 
tance of  seventy  miles  from  the  frontiers  was 
so  great,  that  finally  the  Americans  concluded 
to  abandon  it.  This  was  done  in  August,  1779 ; 
and  Henry  Jolly,  then  an  ensign  in  t^e  Conti- 
nental army,  and  now  living  near  Columbus, 
Ohio,  was  the  last  man  who  left  the  walls  of 
Fort  Laurens. 


76        EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 


CHAPTER   V. 

THE  MORAVIAN  MISSIONS  IN  OHIO. 
SCHOENBRUNN  AND  THE  MORAVIAN  MISSIONARIES. 

As  we  proceed  south  along  the  Ohio  Canal, 
near  the  center  of  the  county  of  Tuscarawas, 
and  not  far  from  the  site  of  the  present  town 
of  New  Philadelphia,  we  reach  that  ancient  seat 
of  missionary  labor — Schoenbrunn,  or  "Beauti- 
ful Spring."  From  the  writings  of  Loskiel  this 
region  has  become  in  a  manner  classic  ground. 
It  was  the  spot  selected  by  David  Zeisberger, 
the  Moravian  missionary,  for  a  station  as  early 
as  the  3d  of  May,  in  the  year  1772.  A  strip 
of  country,  extending  for  twenty  miles  along 
the  wide  alluvial  lands  of  the  Tuscarawas,  was 
formally  ceded  to  the  Christian  Indians,  at  that 
time  living  in  Fredericstadt,  on  the  Big  Beaver, 
by  the  Delaware  tribe,  among  whom  was  White 


MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE.  77 

Eyes,  a  celebrated  warrior.  This  Indian  al- 
ways remained  a  firm  friend  of  the  missionaries 
to  the  day  of  his  death,  which  took  place  in 
1780,  at  Pittsburg,  where  he  died  of  the  small- 
pox. 

The  whole  history  of  the  missionaries,  and 
that  of  their  Christian  converts,  seems  to  have 
been  a  continued  series  of  persecutions.  They 
had  been  driven  from  their  stations  on  the  Sus- 
quehannah  River,  to  one  on  the  Alleghany,  and 
from  that  to  Fredericstadt  on  the  Big  Beaver. 
A  brief  sketch  of  these  holy  men,  and  their 
labors,  as  connected  with  the  border  history  of 
the  West,  can  not  fail  to  be  interesting. 

MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE. 

The  Moravians  commenced  their  missions 
among  the  North  American  Indians  as  early 
as  the  year  1742.  One  of  their  first  establish- 
ments for  the  spread  of  the  Gospel  was  among 
the  Mohegan  Indians,  at  a  place  called  Sheko- 
meko,  within  the  boundaries  of  the  colony  of 


78        EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST.. 

New  York,  not  far  from  Poughkeepsie.  Here 
the  missionaries  were  greatly  persecuted  by  the 
whites,  who  maliciously  accused  them  and  the 
Christian  Indians  of  being  in  a  league  with  the 
French,  who  at  that  period  held  extensive  pos- 
sessions in  America. 

In  1746,  David  Zeisberger,  and  Frederic  Post, 
who  had  been  on  a  visit  to  the  Iroquois  In- 
dians to  perfect  their  knowledge  of  the  native 
languages,  were  arrested  at  Albany  on  their 
return  and  thrown  into  prison  in  New  York, 
where  they  remained  nearly  two  months.  Zeis- 
berger was  a  man  of  low  stature,  but  full  of  zeal 
for  the  cause  of  Christ,  and  animated  like  St. 
Paul  with  undaunted  courage.  He  personally 
established  nearly  all  the  missionary  stations  in 
the  valley  of  the  Ohio,  traversing  the  wilder- 
ness on  foot,  braving  the  dangers  of  flood, 
famine,  and  the  hatred  of  hostile  savages  often 
displayed  in  the  most  threatening  manner. 

How  wonderful  to  reflect  upon  the  persever- 
ance and  zeal  of  such  men  as  Zeisberger,  Hecke- 


MISSIONARY   ENTERPRISE.  79 

welder,  and  their  brethren — self-supported  and 
fed  by  the  labor  of  their  own  hands — their 
bodies  a  living  sacrifice  on  the  altar  of  mis- 
sions! At  that  day  no  societies  existed  for  the 
support  of  missionaries  as  at  this  period  of  the 
Church.  The  love  of  missions  and  the  spread 
of  the  Gospel  was  their  only  help.  Amid  the 
wilderness,  and  far  removed  from  civilized  so- 
ciety, they  received  no  aid  from  Government  as 
most  missionaries  now  do.  Their  only  protector 
was  God,  and  their  faith  in  the  cause  they  had 
espoused.  Sir  William  Johnson,  I  find,  often 
lent  them  the  assistance  of  his  powerful  influ- 
ence over  the  savage  nations,  in  recommending 
them  to  their  friendship. 

Even  then,  as  now,  a  large  portion  of  the  dif- 
ficulty in  Christianizing  the  Indians  arose  from 
the  cupidity  of  white  men  in  trafficking  with 
them  in  rum — that  spirit  of  the  fire.  Wherever 
they  met  with  Indians  free  from  its  influence, 
they  were  generally  ready  to  listen  to  the  mes- 
sage of  the  missionary ;  and  not  only  to  listen, 


80        EARLY  HISTORY  OP  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

but  to  believe.  Their  teachings  were  not  only- 
conformed  to  the  doctrines  of  Christianity,  but 
also  to  schools  and  the  arts  of  civilized  life; 
so  that  in  a  few  years  they  always  created 
around  them  most  of  the  comforts  to  be  found 
in  the  white  settlements. 

JOHN  HECKEWELDER. 

John  Heckewelder,  with  whom  I  was  per- 
sonally acquainted,  commenced  his  missionary 
career  with  Frederic  Post,  in  the  year  1762, 
at  a  station  one  hundred  miles  west  of  Fort 
Pitt,  on  the  heads  of  the  Tuscarawas,  among 
the  Delaware  Indians,  for  the  express  purpose 
of  learning  their  language.  This  mission  failed, 
and  he  returned  to  Bethlehem,  Pennsylvania. 
He  next  joined  the  mission  at  San-gun-to-ut-en- 
uenk,  or  "  the  Town  of  Peace,"  generally  known 
by  the  name  of  Friedenstadt,  above  the  falls  of 
Beaver.  He  was  a  man  of  mild  manners  and 
pleasing  address,  whose  heart  overflowed  with 
"the  milk  of  human  kindness."     In  disposition 


EPIDEMIC   DISEASE.  81 

he  was  more  like  the  apostle  John,  while  his 
companion,  Zeisberger,  partook  of  the  spirit  of 
St.  Paul,  but  equally  devoted  and  faithful  in 
his  Master's  service. 

This  mission  was  established  by  the  latter 
missionary,  the  third  of  May,  A.  D.  1770,  by 
the  removal  of  a  number  of  families  of  Chris- 
tian Indians  from  a  station  near  the  head  of 
the  Alleghany  River.  They  made  the  journey 
by  water  in  sixteen  canoes,  ascending  the  Beaver 
with  great  labor  and  difficulty,  to  a  place  above 
the  falls  on  the  right  bank  of  the  stream. 

EPIDEMIC   DISEASE. 

About  this  period,  and  for  a  year  or  two  pre- 
vious, a  fatal  epidemic  disease  prevailed  among 
the  Indians  in  this  quarter  of  the  country.  It 
was  most  probably  a  bilious  remittent  fever, 
such  as  has  since  appeared  at  intervals  of 
twenty  or  thirty  years  in  the  western  country. 
Loskiel   speaks  of  the  measles   and  small-pox 

as  prevailing   occasionally,  so  that  this  disease 
6 


82        EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

was  something  else,  and  very  likely  an  epidemic 
fever.  The  neighboring  Indians  pretended  to 
believe  it  was  sent  as  a  punishment  by  the 
Great  Spirit,  on  account  of  their  forsaking  the 
religion  of  their  fathers. 

MIGRATIONS   OF   THE   CHRISTIAN  INDIANS. 

As  the  country  on  the  Susquehanna  River 
gradually  filled  up  with  white  settlers,  the  mis- 
sions above  Wilkesbarre,  and  in  the  vicinity  of 
what  is  now  Bradford  county,  Pennsylvania,  at 
Friedenshutten,  became  daily  more  and  more 
molested  and  incommoded  by  the  traders  and 
wicked  persons  persuading  the  Christian  In- 
dians to  leave  the  care  of  the  teachers,  and 
return  to  their  former  evil  practices.  Under 
all  these  discouragements  it  was  thought  best 
to  remove  the  mission  across  the  Alleghany 
Mountains,  to  Fredericstadt,  on  the  Beaver 
River.  The  following  quaint  but  very  inter- 
esting narrative  of  the  journey  from  Loskiel 
will  give  a  faint  view  of  the  patience  and  suf- 


loskiel's  narrative.  83 

ferings  of  the  Indian  converts,  in  their  migra- 
tion through  the  wilderness,  at  this  early  day. 
It  was  more  brief  than  that  of  the  ancient 
Israelites,  but  borne  with  far  more  equanimity. 

loskiel's  narrative. 

"June  11,  1772.— All  being  ready  for  the 
journey,  the  congregation  met  for  the  last  time 
at  Friedcnshutten,  when  the  missionary  re- 
minded them  of  the  great  favors  and  bless- 
ings received  from  God  in  this  place,  and  then 
offered  up  praises  and  thanksgiving  to  Him, 
with  fervent  supplication  for  his  peace  and  pro- 
tection on  the  journey.  The  company  consisted 
of  two  hundred  and  forty-one  persons,  and  had 
dwelt  at  this  spot  since  the  year  1765." 

Brother  Ettwein  conducted  those  who  went 
by  land,  and  brother  Rothe  those  by  water,  who 
were  the  greater  number.  The  tediousness  of 
this  journey  was  a  practical  school  of  patience 
for  the  missionaries.  The  fatigue  also  attend- 
ing the  emigration   of  a  whole    congregation, 


84        EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

with  all  their  goods  and  cattle,  in  a  country- 
like  North  America,  can  hardly  be  conceived 
by  any  one  who  has  not  experienced  it,  much 
less  can  it  be  described  in  a  proper  manner. 

The  land  travelers  had  seventy  head  of  oxen 
and  a  still  greater  number  of  horses  to  care  for, 
and  sustained  incredible  hardships  in  forcing  a 
way  for  themselves  and  their  beasts  through 
very  thick  woods  and  swamps  of  great  extent, 
being  directed  only  by  a  small  path,  and  that 
hardly  discernible  in  some  places;  so  that  it 
appears  almost  impossible  to  conceive  how  one 
man  could  work  his  way  and  mark  a  path 
through  such  close  thickets  and  immense  woods. 
It  happened  that  when  they  were  thus  rather 
creeping  than  walking  through  the  thick  woods 
it  rained  almost  incessantly.  In  one  part  of 
the  country  they  were  obliged  to  wade  thirty- 
six  times  through  the  windings  of  the  River 
Munsy,  besides  suffering  other  hardships.  How- 
ever, they  attended  to  their  daily  worship  as 
regularly  as  circumstances  would   permit,  and 


loskiel's  narrative.  85 

frequently  had  strangers  among  them,  both  In- 
dians and  white  people,  who  were  particularly 
attentive  to  the  English  discourses  delivered 
by  brother  Ettwein. 

The  party  which  went  by  water  were  every 
night  obliged  to  seek  a  lodging  on  shore,  and 
suffered  much  from  the  wet.  Soon  after  their 
departure  from  Friedenshutten  the  measles 
broke  out  among  them,  and  many  fell  sick, 
especially  the  children.  The  attention  due  to 
the  sick  necessarily  increased  the  fatigue  of 
the  journey.  The  many  falls  and  dangerous 
rapids  in  the  Susquehanna  River  occasioned 
immense  trouble  and  frequent  delays.  How- 
ever, by  the  mercy  of  God  they  passed  safe 
up  the  west  arm  of  the  river  to  Great  Island, 
where  they  joined  the  land  travelers  the  29th  of 
June,  and  now  proceeded  all  together  by  land. 

When  they  arrived  at  the  mountains  they 
met  with  great  difficulties  in  crossing  them; 
for,  not  having  horses  enough  to  carry  all  their 
baggage,  most  of  them  wore  obliged  to  carry 


86        EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

some  part.  In  one  of  the  valleys  they  were 
suddenly  caught  in  a  most  tremendous  storm 
of  thunder  and  lightning,  with  violent  rain. 
During  a  considerable  part  of  the  way  the 
rattlesnakes  kept  them  in  constant  alarm.  As 
they  lay,  in  great  numbers,  either  near  or  in 
the  path,  brother  Ettwein  trod  upon  one  with 
fifteen  rattles,  which  so  frightened  him  that, 
according  to  his  own  account,  he  could  hardly 
venture  to  step  forward  for  many  days  after, 
and  every  rustling  leaf  made  him  dread  the 
approach  of  a  rattlesnake.  These  venomous 
creatures  destroyed  several  of  the  horses  by 
their  bite,  but  the  oxen  were  favored  by  being 
driven  in  the  rear. 

INCIDENTS   ON  THE   ROUTE. 

In  one  part  of  the  forest  the  fires  and  storms 
had  caused  such  confusion  among  the  trees 
that  the  wood  was  almost  impenetrable.  Sister 
Rothe  with  her  child  fell  several  times  from  her 
horse,  and  once  with  her  foot  entangled  in  the 


INCIDENTS   ON   THE   ROUTE.  87 

stirrup;  another  time  she  fell  into  a  deep  mo- 
rass. Some  persons  departed  this  life  during 
the  journey,  among  them  a  poor  cripple,  ten 
or  eleven  years  old,  who  was  carried  by  his 
mother  in  a  basket  on  her  back.  When  he 
perceived  his  end  approaching  he  begged  most 
earnestly  to  be  baptized.  His  request  was 
granted;  soon  after  which  he  ended  a  life  of 
misery,  and  departed  rejoicing. 

Our  travelers  sometimes  tarried  a  day  or  two 
in  a  place  to  supply  themselves  with  food. 
They  shot  upward  of  one  hundred  and  fifty 
deer  in  the  course  of  the  journey,  and  found 
great  abundance  of  fish  in  the  rivers  and  brooks. 
They  likewise  met  with  a  peculiar  kind  of  turtle, 
about  the  size  of  a  goose,  with  a  long  neck, 
pointed  head,  and  eyes  like  a  dove.  It  had 
scales  on  its  back  and  lower  part  of  the  belly ; 
all  the  rest  of  its  covering  was  soft,  resembling 
leather  of  a  liver  color.* 

*  The  soft-shelled  turtle,  or  trionyx  ferox. 


OS        EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

July  29th  they  left  the  mountains,  and  ar- 
rived on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio,  [Alleghany 
River,  (?)]  where  they  immediately  built  canoes 
to  send  the  aged  and  infirm,  with  the  heavy 
baggage,  down  the  river.  Two  days  afterward 
they  were  met  by  brother  Heckewelder  and 
some  Indian  brethren  with  horses  from  Fried- 
enstadt,  by  whose  assistance  they  arrived  there 
on  the  5th  of  August,  and  were  received  with 
every  mark  of  affection  by  the  whole  congre- 
gation. 

"living  ashes." 

The  following  beautiful  specimen  of  native 
poetic  imagery  is  copied  from  the  same  narra- 
tive :  *•  The  most  troublesome  plague,  both  to 
man  and  beast,  especially  in  passing  through 
the  woods,  was  a  kind  of  insect  called  by  the 
Indians  'pouk,'  or  'living  ashes,'  from  their 
being  so  small  that  they  are  hardly  visible,  and 
their  bite  as  painful  as  the  burning  of  red-hot 
ashes.     These   tormenting   creatures   were  met 


REMOVAL   TO  GNADENHUTTEN.  89 

in  the  greatest  numbers  in  a  tract  of  country 
which  the  Indians  call  la  place  avoided  by  all 
men.'  " 

The  following  circumstance  gave  rise  to  this 
name.  A  great  many  years  ago  an  Indian, 
affecting  the  manners  of  a  hermit,  lived  upon 
a  high  rock  in ,  this  neighborhood,  and  used 
to  appear  to  travelers  or  hunters  in  different 
garbs — frightening  some  and  murdering  others. 
At  length  a  valiant  Indian  chief  was  so  for-* 
tunate  as  to  surprise  and  kill  him;  and  having 
burnt  the  hermit's  bones  to  ashes,  scattered 
them  in  the  air  through  the  forest,  which  soon 
took  on  a  living  form  and  became  "pouks." 
These  insects  were  probably  the  same  that  after- 
ward became  so  well  known  as  "seed-ticks." 

REMOVAL   TO    GNADENHUTTEN.* 

The   mischievous    consequences   of  the   rum 
trade  still  continued  to  follow  the  mission  after 

*  This  narrative  is  condensed  from  the  history  of  Loskiel, 
with  occasional  remarks  by  the  writer. 


90        EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST, 

it  had  been  on  the  Beaver  but  a  short  time;  so 
that  at  last  it  was  quite  insupportable,  and  led 
them  to  look  out  for  a  station  further  removed 
from  the  frontiers.  Accordingly,  on  the  13th 
of  April,  1773,  the  whole  congregation,  con- 
sisting at  this  time  of  not  less  than  four  hundred 
souls,  broke  up  their  settlement,  leaving  their 
dwellings  and  cultivated  fields  to  go  to  ruin — 
esteeming  all  things  as  nothing  in  comparison 

•with  the  enjoyment  of  their  religious  rites  in 
peace. 

A  number  of  the  most  hardy  went  directly 
across  the  wilderness  by  land  with  brother 
Rothe;  but  the  larger  portion  traveled  by 
water,  in  twenty-two  large  canoes,  under  the 
direction  of  brother  Heckewelder — proceeding 
down  the  Beaver  to  the  Ohio  River,'  thence  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Muskingum,  and  then  up 
that  stream  to  Gnadenhutten,  or  the  "Tents 
of    Grace;"    which    voyage    was    accomplished 

,  in  three  weeks,  with  great  labor  and  fatigue. 
When  the  different  portions  of  the  Indian  con- 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   Uli.  91 

gregation  again  met  there  was  great  joy  and 
gladness. 

The  town  of  Schoenbrunn  was  inhabited  by 
the  Delaware  Indians,  and  Gnadenhutten  by 
the  Mohegans.  Dwelling-houses,  fields,  gar- 
dens, and  cattle  were  apportioned  among  the 
inhabitants  according  to  their  necessities;  and 
all  the  comforts  of  civilized  life  were  in  the 
course  of  a  year  or  two  within  their  reach. 
The  labors  of  the  missionaries  were  much 
blessed,  and  many  converts  added  from  the 
adjacent  savages,  who  constantly  visited  the 
new  settlements. 

PROCEEDINGS   OP   1774. 

In  the  year  1774  a  general  war  broke  out 
between  the  Shawnees,  Senecas,  Mingoes,  etc., 
and  the  whites;  partly  occasioned  by  the  mur- 
der of  the  family  of  the  celebrated  Mingo  chief, 
Logan,  and  partly  from  other  difficulties.  The 
hostile  tribes,  especially  the  Shawnees,  used  all 
their  influence  with  the  Delawares  to  draw  them 


92        EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

into  the  war;  but  their  regard  for  the  mission- 
aries, and  their  connection  with  the  Christian 
Indians  kept  them  quiet  for  the  present.  The 
Delawares  had  also  promised  the  brethren  be- 
fore they  moved  on  to  the  Tuscarawas  that 
they  would  not  only  be  their  friends,  but  pro- 
tect them  from  the  hostilities  of  the  other  tribes. 
This  act  of  kindness  drew  upon  the  Delawares 
the  contempt  of  the  other  savages,  who  called 
them,  by  way  of  derision,  "shwannoks,"  or 
whites,  which  so  enraged  the  young  warriors 
that  they  could  hardly  be  restrained  from  fall- 
ing on  the  new  settlements.  Even  some  of  the 
older  chiefs  were  so  much  vexed  that  they  sent 
a  formal  embassy  to  the  Shawnees,  positively 
declaring  that  they  would  not  be  called  "  shwan- 
noks ;"  and  if  they  were  thus  shamefully  reviled 
on  account  of  the  white  teachers  who  lived  in 
their  vicinity,  they  took  this  opportunity  of 
saying  they  had  no  hand  in  it,  and  never  in- 
tended to  believe  in  their  religion,  or  to  live 
conformably  to  it;   that  they  had  never  called 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   1774.  93 

the  believing  Indians  into  their  country,  but 
only  connived  at  its  being  done  by  some  old 
fools  among  them. 

This  latter  assertion  was  a  falsehood,  and  the 
message  sent  through  fear;  but  the  young  war- 
riors were  so  much  emboldened  by  it  that  they 
came  in  great  troops  to  Schoenbrunn  and  Gna- 
denhutten,  committing  outrages,  the  conse- 
quences of  which  would  have  been  fatal  to 
the  missions  had  not  God  in  his  mercy  pro- 
tected them  by  his  almighty  hand.  The  mis- 
sionaries being  hourly  in  danger  of  their  lives, 
it  was  thought  proper  to  send  brother  Rothe 
and  his  wife  with  their  two  infants  to  Bethle- 
hem, whither  the  Lord  conducted  them  safely 
through  many  dangers.  Canoes  were  kept  in 
readiness  for  any  sudden  emergency — they  be- 
ing often  alarmed  at  night  with  threatened  at- 
tacks. The  sisters  were  several  times  driven 
at  noonday  from  their  plantations  when  at 
work,  and  all  the  inhabitants  confined  for 
days   and   weeks   to   their   houses   for  fear   of 


94        EARLY  niSTORY  OP  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

hostile    parties   watching   in   the   neighborhood 
for  stragglers. 

RELIEF    OBTAINED. 

They  were  finally  relieved  from  these  troubles 
by  the  march  of  Lord  Dunmore,  Governor  of 
Virginia,  with  a  large  army  into  the  country 
of  the  Shawnees  and  Senecas,  whose  villages 
were  destroyed,  and  their  most  influential  chiefs 
taken  as  hostages.  He  also  compelled  them  to 
give  up  all  their  white  prisoners.  This  peace 
was  the  cause  of  great  joy  to  the  mission,  and 
was  celebrated  by  a  public  thanksgiving  on  the 
6th  of  November,  with  great  solemnity.  Their 
affairs  also  greatly  prospered,  and  many  new 
converts  were  added  to  the  Congregation. 

TRANSACTIONS   OF  1775. 

^-  The  rest  enjoyed  by  the  Indian  congregation 
was  very  gratifying.  Many  strangers  visited 
the  settlement  at  Schoenbrunn;  so  that  the 
chapel,  which  would  hold   about  five   hundred 


A  NEW  TOWN  BUILT  BY  THE  DELAWARES.    95 

persons,  was  too  small.  A  Mr.  Richard  Conner, 
a  white  man,  who  had  lived  several  years  among 
the  Shawnees,  and  his  wife,  joined  them,  and 
conformed  to  their  rules  and  regulations.  They 
had  been  living  at  Fort  Pitt.  Several  influen- 
tial chiefs  of  the  Delawares  and  Shawnees  also 
united  themselves  to  the  congregation.  In  this 
year  the  war  of  the  Revolution  between  Great 
Britain  and  the  Colonies  broke  out,  and  was 
the  commencement  of  much  and  lasting  trouble 
to  the  missions.     \ 

A  NEW   TOWN  BUILT  BY  THE   DELAW4RES. 

In  the  Spring  of  the  year  1775  the  Delaware 
tribe  of  Indians,  who  had  lived  for  many  years 
in  the  heads  of  the  Tuscarawas  River,  removed 
their  chief  village  to  the  outlet  of  that  stream, 
opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Walhonding,  on  the 
spot  where  the  present  town  of  Coshocton  now 
stands.  It  was  done  under  the  direction  of 
their  old  chief,  Ne-ta-wat-wees.  The  new  town 
was  called  Gosch-ach-gu-enk.     Their  old  war- 


96        EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

rior  continued  a  firm  friend  to  the  missionaries 
and  their  cause  as  long  as  he  lived. 

TRANSACTIONS   OF   1776. 

In  this  year  a  reading  and  spelling  book 
in  the  Delaware  language  was  compiled  by 
brother  Zeisberger,  and  introduced  into  all  the 
Indian  schools,  and  gave  great  pleasure  to  the 
scholars. 

NEW   STATION   ESTABLISHED. 

In  the  Spring  of  1776  a  new  station  was 
established,  at  the  request  of  the  Delawares,  on 
the  east  side  of  the  Muskingum  River,  three 
miles  below  the  mouth  of  the  Walhonding,  and 
called  Lichtenau.  On  the  10th  of  April  broth- 
ers Zeisberger  and  Heckewelder,  with  eight  In- 
dian families,  in  all  thirty-five  persons,  went 
from  Schoenbrunn  to  the  spot  proposed,  and  on 
the  evening  of  their  arrival  met  in  the  open  air 
to  praise  the  name  of  that  Lord  whom  they  in- 
tended  to    worship    and    serve    in    this    place. 


NEW   STATION  ESTABLISHED.  97 

They  first  dwelt  in  huts,  as  usual  in  such 
emergencies;  marked  out  the  plantations  and 
gardens  for  the  town  on  the  banks  of  the  river, 
and  built  one  street  north  and  south,  with  the 
chapel  in  the  center.  They  were  assisted  in 
their  labor  by  many  brethren  from  Schoenbrunn 
and  Gnadenhutten,  and  by  the  old  chief  Ne-ta- 
wat-wees,  who  often  came  with  a  large  party 
of  his  people  from  Gosch-asch-guenk  to  help 
them.  Thus  in  a  short  time  all  our  Indians 
who  moved  hither  with  their  teachers  left  the 
huts  and  took  possession  of  their  houses. 

By  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  many  Indians 
became  concerned  for  their  salvation;  and  all 
who  appeared  to  be  in  earnest  were  allowed  to 
settle  here,  so  that  the  place  rapidly  increased. 
Among  the  strangers  was  one  who  came  from 
the  River  Illinois,  a  distance  of  a  thousand 
miles,  and  appeared  very  thoughtful.  At  last 
he  asked  brother  Zeisberger,  "Do  you  think 
what  you  preach  is   true,  and  good  for  us?" 

He    answered,   "I   preach   the   Word   of   God, 

7 


98        EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

which  is  truth,  and  will  remain  so  to  all  eternity." 
lie  replied,  "  I  can  not  believe  it." 

This  honest  declaration  pleased  the  mission- 
ary, and  he  explained  to  him  that  as  soon  as 
he  should  hear  the  Gospel  and  perceive  its 
power,  he  would  without  hesitation  acknowl- 
edge its  truth. 

INDIAN   BAPTISM. 

In  July  the  nephew  of  the  chief  Ne-ta-wat- 
wees  was  baptized,  and  named  John.  He  soon 
became  an  active  and  zealous  Christian.  The 
chief  himself  became  very  thoughtful  about  his 
own  salvation,  and  said  that  he  had  made  thir- 
teen notches  in  a  stick,  denoting  the  number 
of  Sabbaths  he  had  heard  the  Word  of  God  in 
Lichtenau;  and  that  when  he  looked  at  these 
notches,  and  thought  how  often  he  had  heard 
of  his  Redeemer,  he  could  not  help  weeping. 
The  believing  Indians  at  this  time  amounted  to 
four  hundred  and  fourteen  persons.  The  war, 
still  continuing,  was  the  cause  of  a  great  deal 


INDIAN  BAPTISM.  99 

of  trouble  to  the  missions.  The  old  chief, 
Ne-ta-wat-wees,  did  all  he  could  to  preserve 
peace  among  the  hostile  Indians  by  embassies 
and  exhortations.  But  the  Hurons  and  Min- 
goes,  instigated  by  the  British  at  Detroit,  were 
not  to  be  deterred,  but  kept  up  continual  hos- 
tilities with  the  white  settlements  in  Virginia 
and  Pennsylvania;  and  generally  passing  with 
their  war  parties  and  prisoners  through  some  of 
the  mission  stations,  gave  them  great  trouble — 
they  being  always  forced  to  furnish  them  with 
food  on  these  occasions,  whether  willing  or  not. 
The  American  parties,  with  the  Indians  in  their 
interest,  generally  traveled  the  same  route;  so 
that  they  were  beset  by  both  sides,  and  con- 
sidered as  the  friends  of  neither.  The  lives 
of  the  missionaries  were  often  in  danger  from 
the  hostile  Indians,  who  several  times  came 
into  their  houses  for  the  express  purpose  of 
killing  them,  but  were  always  preserved  by 
some  providential  interference. 


100     EARLY  UISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

THE   MORAVIAN   MISSIONS  — CONTINUED. 

TRANSACTIONS   OF   1777. 

The -Huron  Indians  having  joined  the  British, 
and  taken  up  the  hatchet  against  the  Ameri- 
cans, used  all  their  influence  with  the  Delawares 
to  induce  them  to  do  the  same.  The  Governor 
of  Detroit  could  not  understand  why  these  In- 
dians were  so  firm  in  maintaining  peace.  At 
last  it  was  ascribed  to  the  influence  of  the  mis- 
sionaries. To  remove  this  difficulty  it  was  pro- 
posed to  seize  three  men  and  take  them  by 
force  to  Detroit;  but  it  was  not  finally  executed 
till  the  year  1781,  as  will  hereafter  appear. 
This  year  the  troubles  of  the  mission  continued, 
and  the  accounts  of  the  capture  of  Burgoyne's 
army  by  the  Americans  increased  the  difficulty-. 
The  Shawnees  determined  to  go  to  war,  and 


TRIALS   OF   THE   MISSIONARIES.  101 

reports  were  received  from  all  quarters  that 
the  savages  intended  to  massacre  the  mission- 
aries, and  then  all  those  Indians  who  would  not 
join  them  in  the  war. 

TRIALS   OF  THE   MISSIONARIES. 

Their  severest  trials,  however,  arose  from 
the  ill  conduct  of  some  of  their  own  followers, 
who  turned  aside  and  joined  the  heathen  In- 
dians. Among  them  was  a  chief  named  Ne- 
wal-le-ke,  who  declared  that  the  Christian  doc- 
trine was  all  a  fable.  Captain  White  Eyes, 
who  did  not  belong  to  the  Christian  Indians, 
hearing  this,  answered :  "  You  went  to  the 
brethren  because  you  could  find  nothing  in 
the  world  to  set  your  heart  at  ease,  and 
firmly  believed  you  had  found  with  them  all 
you  desired.  These  are  the  words  I  heard 
you  speak,  and  now,  being  hardly  begun, 
you  give  up  already,  and  return  to  your 
former  life.  This  is  not  acting  the  part  of 
a  man." 


102      EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 
SCHOENBRUNN   ABANDONED. 

The  difficulties  at  Schoenbrunn  increased  so 
rapidly  that  the  mission  at  that  place  was  aban- 
doned in  the  night  of  April  3,  1777,  and  the 
people  removed  to  Gnadenhutten  and  Lichtenau. 

THE   DELAWARES   CONCLUDE   TO   FIGHT. 

In  the  Fall  of  1777  there  was  a  report  that 
an  American  general  had  arrived  at  Pittsburg, 
who  would  give  no  quarter  to  any  Indian, 
whether  friend  or  foe,  being  resolved  to  destroy 
them  all.  This  was  probably  General  M'Intosh. 
The  report,  although  a  fabrication  of  the  hostile 
Indians,  was  the  cause  of  the  Delawares  taking 
up  arms ;  who  alleged,  in  defense,  that  they 
must  die  whether  they  fought  or  not;  and,  as 
the  Americans  were  daily  expected,  their  war- 
riors joined  the  Hurons,  who  were  still  near 
Lichtenau,  and  had  threatened  to  destroy  it, 
but  were  turned  aside  by  the  presents  of  food 
and  kind  usage  of  the  Christian  Indians. 


ALARMS  OF   THE   CHRISTIAN  INDIANS.     103 
ALARMS   OF   THE   CHRISTIAN  INDIANS. 

September  17th  an  express  arrived  at  Gna- 
denhutten,  "with  an  account  of  the  approach  of 
the  white  troops.  The  congregation  immediately 
fled  with  their  teachers  in  canoes,  to  a  spot  on 
the  Walhonding  River,  before  agreed  on ;  but  in 
such  haste  as  to  leave  the  greater  part  of  their 
goods  behind.  While  hourly  expecting  to  hear 
of  a  bloody  battle,  an  express  came  in  saying 
that  what  they  had  supposed  to  be  the  enemy 
was  only  a  great  number  of  horses  in  the  woods. 
They  remained  there  the  18th,  and  then  re- 
turned. On  the  23d  a  message  arrived  from 
the  American  general  at  Fort  Pitt,  and  Colonel 
Morgan,  assuring  the  Indians  they  had  nothing 
to  fear  from  the  Americans.  But  before  the 
truth  was  known,  a  report  was  again  spread 
that  the  American  troops  were  in  the  neighbor- 
hood, and  every  one  was  preparing  to-  escape. 
Brother  Zeisberger  assembled  them  at  midnight, 
and  made  known  the  true  account  from  Fort 


104     EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

Pitt,  -when  they  all  went  cheerfully  to  rest.  The 
Delawares  also  returned  to  their  former  policy 
of  peace. 

ENGAGEMENT  BETWEEN  THE  HURONS  AND  WHITES. 

In  October  an  action  took  place  between  a 
party  of  Hurons  and  a  troop  of  American  free- 
booters, who  went,  contrary  to  the  orders  of  the 
general  at  Fort  Pitt,  to  destroy  the  Delaware 
town,  and  the  mission  stations  among  the  rest. 
They  were  defeated  by  the  Half  King,  who 
killed  the  greater  part  of  them. 

PROGRESS   OF   THE   MISSION. 

During  this  season  of  calamity,  when  the  < 
spirit  of  murder  and  the  powers  of  darkness 
greatly  prevailed,  the  work  of  God  proceeded 
unmolested  among  the  Indians,  and  many  con-, 
versions  took  place — cheering  evidences  of  the 
favor  of  Heaven  and  the  faithfulness  of  the 
missionaries.  The  war  still  continuing  between 
the   United    States   and   Great   Britain,   finally 


CRUELTY   OF   THE   INDIANS.  105 

involved  nearly  all  the  Western  tribes  in  the  con- 
test, and  gave  immense  trouble  to  the  Moravian 
Indians,  by  the  passing  of  war  parties  through 
their  towns,  often  carrying  captives  and  scalps. 
The  Christian  Indians,  however,  uniformly  treated 
them  with  kindness. 

CRUELTY   OF   THE   INDIANS. 

Among  these  prisoners  was  an  old  man  of 
venerable  appearance  and  two  youths.  The 
Christian  Indians  greatly  pitied  the  old  man, 
and  offered  a  large  sum  to  his  captors  for  his 
release,  but  they  refused.  When  they  reached 
their  village  the  two  young  men  were  tortured 
and  burned  alive.  The  old  man  was  condemned 
to  suffer  the  same  treatment ;  but  being  informed 
by  a  child  of  his  fate  he  contrived  to  escape, 
and  seizing  a  horse  fled  into  the  woods.  The 
savages  pursued,  but  he  arrived  safely  in  the 
vicinity  of  Lichtenau,  quite  famished  with  hun- 
ger, having  eaten  nothing  for  ten  days  but  a 
little  bark  and  herbs.    An  Indian  brother  found 


106      EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTn-WEST. 

him  in  the  woods,  looking  more  like  a  dead 
than  a  living  man,  and  brought  him  with  much 
trouble  into  town,  where  he  was  carefully  nursed. 
He  exclaimed,  "Merciful  God,  be  praised  that 
thou  hast  brought  me,  wretched  creature,  to  a 
Christian  people.  If  it  be  thy  will  that  I  die 
in  this  place  I  am  happy  and  contented."  He 
finally  recovered  and  was  brought  to  Fort  Pitt. 

REMOVAL   FROM   GNADENHUTTEN. 

Most  of  these  troubles  were  centered  at  Lich- 
tenau.  Freebooters  belonging  to  the  whites  in- 
fested every  quarter,  and  endangered  the  lives 
of  our  Indians.  They  were,  therefore,  invited 
to  come  and  settle  at  Lichtenau  for  the  present, 
and  removed  there  in  April,  1778.  Thus  three 
Indian  congregations  lived  on  one  spot.  The 
chapel  was  enlarged  and  new  houses  built. 

EFFORTS   OF   THE   BRITISH. 

The  Governor  at  Detroit  still  continued  to 
use  all  his  influence  with  the  Delaware  Indians 


PRESERVATION   Oi    THE   MISSION.  107 

to  engage  them  in  the  war,  inasmuch  as  several 
other  tribes,  who  considered  themselves  as  de- 
scendants of  the  Delawares,  and  called  that 
tribe  their  grandfather,  were  waiting  to  see 
what  they  would  do,  being  greatly  influenced 
by  the  opinions  of  the  Delawares.  They,  how- 
ever, continued  firm  in  preserving  peace  at 
present,  listening  to  the  counsel  of  the  mission- 
aries, and  to  that  of  the  Christian  Indians,  who 
all  strongly  deprecated  war. 

PRESERVATION  OF   THE   MISSION. 

In  the  Summer  of  1778,  they  received  cer- 
tain intelligence  that  the  Governor  of  Detroit 
was  about  to  send  a  party  of  Indians  and  En- 
glish soldiers  to  carry  them  off.  This  plan  was 
frustrated  by  the  death  of  the  commander,  and 
it  was  some  time  before  his  place  could  be  filled 
with  another.  The.  hostile  Indians  were  charged 
to  bring  the  missionaries,  dead  or  alive,  which 
they  promised  to  do ;  but  happily  they  neglected 
to  fulfill  their  promise. 


108     EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 
TRANSACTIONS   OF   1779. 

In  the  Summer  of  the  year  1779  danger 
began  to  thicken  around  the  peaceable  habita- 
tions of  the  mission.  An  army,  composed  of 
English  and  Indians,  marched  from  Detroit  to 
attack  Fort  Laurens  on  the  Tuscarawas,  and 
also  to  take  the  missionaries  prisoners;  but  on 
their  way  the  news  of  an  attack  by  the  Ameri- 
cans on  some  of  the  Indian  towns  reached  them, 
which  caused  all  the  Indians  to  leave  the  British 
officer;  and  thus  the  attack  was  abandoned. 
That  word  of  Scripture,  "The  Lord  bringeth 
the  councils  of  the  heathen  to  naught,  he 
maketh  the  devices  of  the  people  of  none 
effect,"  was  often  fulfilled. 

PLOTS   AGAINST   THE  MISSIONARIES. 

The  Half  King  of  the  Hurons  cautioned 
the  missionaries  to  be  upon  their  guard,  for  a 
plot  was  formed  against  their  lives,  especially 
brother  Zeisberger — some  malicious  persons  tak- 


KINDNESS   OF   COLONEL   vJIBSON.  109 

ing  great  pains  to  spread  a  report  that  this 
missionary  was  going  over  to  the  Americans 
with  all  the  baptized  Indians.  But  to  all  these 
rumors  this  heroic  missionary  paid  little  atten- 
tion, trusting  in  God,  and  attending  strictly  to 
the  welfare  of  the  mission.  A  white  renegade, 
who  headed  a  party  of  eight  Mingoes,  robbers 
and  murderers,  met  Zeisberger,  with  two  Indian 
brethren,  one  day  in  the  woods,  while  passing 
from  one  station  to  another.  As  soon  as  he  saAV 
him  he  called  to  his  companions,  "  See,  here  is 
the  man  we  have  long  been  wishing  to  see  and 
secure;  do  now  *as  you  think  proper!"  The 
captain  of  the  Mingoes  shook  his  head,  but  said 
nothing  in  reply.  After  a  few  questions  they 
marched  off.  All  the  reports  about  this  time 
agreed  in  this,  that  the  destruction  of  the  mis- 
sion stations  was  resolved  upon. 

KINDNESS   OF   COLONEL   GIBSON. 

In  the  Summer  of  1779  Colonel  Gibson,  the 
commander  of  Fort  Laurens,  gave  the  mission- 


110     EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-  tfEST. 

aries  an  invitation  to  remove  with  their  congre- 
gations to  the  fort,  or  to  settle  in  its  vicinity. 
This  kind  offer  they  declined,  for  the  reason 
that  the  war  was  always  most  violent  near  the 
forts. 

SALEM   BUILT. 

In  the  year  1780  the  robberies,  outrages, 
and  drunkenness  of  the  savages  about  Lich- 
tenau  became  so  great,  that  it  was  thought  best 
to  abandon  it  and  build  a  new  town  five  miles 
below  Gnadenhutten,  which  they  called  Salem, 
or  the  City  of  Peace.  Accordingly,  on  the  thir- 
tieth of  March  the  last  meeting  was  held  here, 
and  all  the  congregation  united  in  praising  God 
for  the  many  blessings  received  at  that  place. 
The  chapel  was  pulled  down,  according  to  their 
usual  custom  when  abandoning  any  settlement, 
probably  to  prevent  its  profanation  by  the 
heathen  savages,  or  to  prevent  its  being  ap- 
plied to  any  other  use.  The  congregation 
embarked  with  their  effects  in  canoes,  and  pro 


CHEERING  APPEARANCE  OF  THE  CHURCH.     Ill 

ceeded  by  water  to  Salem;  which,  although 
only  twenty  miles  above  Lichtenau,  occupied  a 
whole  week  in  rowing  against  the  stream,  the 
river  at  this  season  of  the  year  being  generally 
at  its  highest  stage,  and  of  a  very  rapid  current. 
By  the  assistance  of  the  brethren  from  Schoen- 
brunn  and  Gnadenhutten,  the  settlement  pro- 
gressed rapidly,  and  by  the  22d  of  May  the 
new  chapel  was  ready  to  be  consecrated.  On 
the  23d  they  partook  of  the  holy  sacrament  of 
the  Lord's  Supper,  and  on  the  28th  baptism  was 
administered  for  the  fir&t  time  at  Salem.  In 
December,  1780,  the  dwelling-houses  were  all 
finished. 

CHEERING  APPEARANCE   OF   THE   CHURCH. 

Brothers  Heckewelder  and  Jung  had  the 
charge  of  the  congregation.  The  spiritual  state 
of  the  Church  was  very  favorable,  and  the  labor 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  their  hearts  so  manifest, 
that  the  missionaries  forgot  all  their  sufferings 
for  joy.     During  the  public  sermons  there  was 


112      EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

frequently  such  a  general  emotion  and  weeping, 
that  the  preacher  was  obliged  to  stop  till  they 
became  more  calm.  This  good  spirit  was  par- 
ticularly manifest  in  the  sick  and  dying,  many 
of  whose  deaths  were  wonderfully  triumphant. 
Among  others  was  an  old  man  more  than  one 
hundred  years  of  age,  for  he  remembered  the 
time  when  the  first  house  was  built  in  the  city 
of  Philadelphia,  in  the  year  1682,  in  which  he 
had  been  a  boy. 

About  this  time  Captain  White  Eyes,  who 
had  so  often  advised  other  Indians  with  great 
earnestness  to  believe  in  the  Gospel  of  Jesus 
Christ,  but  who  had  always  postponed  joining 
the  believers  himself,  on  account  of  his  being 
entangled  in  political  concerns,  died  suddenly 
at  Fort  Pitt,  of  the  small-pox.  His  wife  had 
been  a  believer  for  some  years. 

ADDITIONAL   MISSIONARIES. 

In  May,  1780,  brother  Grube,  then  minister 
of  Litiz,  in  Pennsylvania,  came  out  to  hold  a 


ADDITIONAL   MISSIONARIES.  113 

visitation  to  the  Indian  congregations  on  the 
Tuscarawas.  Brother  Senseman  and  his  wife 
came  in  his  company,  as  likewise  the  single 
sister,  Sarah  Ohneburgh,  who  afterward  married 
brother  John  Heckewelder.  They  traveled  over 
the  ranges  of  the  Alleghany  and  Laurel  Mount- 
ains, which  was  excessively  fatiguing  at  that 
early  day,  and  especially  to  brother  Grube,  who 
had  been  hurt  by  the  kick  of  a  horse.  At  Fort 
Pitt  he  preached  the  Gospel  to  a  congregation 
of  Germans,  and  baptized  several  children,  no 
ordained  clergyman  being  then  a  resident  there. 
From  there  the  Indian  brethren  conducted  him 
and  his  company  safely  to  Gnadenhutten.  The 
Governor  of  Fort  Pitt,  Colonel  Broadhead,  and 
Colonel  Gibson,  treated  them  with  great  kind- 
ness. The  latter  gave  them  a  traveling  tent, 
and  assisted  them  in  many  things  necessary  for 
their  safe  conveyance,  as  the  route  was  at  that 
time  infested  with  hostile  Indians.  And  what 
was  still  worse,  three  white  men  who  were  seek- 
ing to  get  Indian  scalps,  a  large  premium  being 


114     EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

then  given  for  them,  lay  in  ambush  near  the 
road  and  shot  at  one  of  the  Christian  Indians, 
who  was  a  little  before  brother  Grube  and  his 
company.  Providentially  the  ball  passed  only 
through  his  shirt  sleeve,  and  the  other  Indians 
taking  the  alarm,  the  men  who  lay  in  wait 
jumped  up  and  run  off.  On  the  30th  of  June 
the  whole  company  reached  Schoenbrunn,  to  the 
great  joy  of  the  missionaries  and  their  congre- 
gations. Brother  Grube  visited  and  preached 
at  all  the  stations,  and  in  the  following  August 
returned  to  his  own  people  in  Litiz. 

BIRTH   OF   THE   FIRST   WHITE   CHILD. 

The  marriage  of  John  Heckewelder  and  Sarah 
Ohneburgh  must  have  been  consummated  shortly 
after  her  arrival  at  the  missionary  station,  as 
their  first  child  was  born  the  16th  of  April, 
1781.  This  child  was  a  daughter,  and  is  still 
living  in  Bethlehem,  Pennsylvania,  and  was 
probably  the  first  white  child  born  within  the 
present  bounds  of  Ohio. 


ATTACK   ON  THE  MISSIONARIES.  115 


TRANSACTIONS   OP   1781. 

In  July  the  missionaries,  Zeisberger  and 
Jungman,  arrived  safe  with  their  wives,  and  the 
joy  of  the  Indians  was  like  that  of  children  at 
the  return  of  beloved  parents.  Brother  Zeis- 
berger had  gone  in  the  Spring  to  Bethlehem, 
for  the  purpose  of  bringing  out  a  wife.  Whom 
he  married  does  not  appear;  but  females  who 
could  venture  so  far  in  the  wilderness  among 
hostile  savages  must  have  possessed  the  spirit 
of  a  Deborah,  and  the  courage  of  Miriam. 

ATTACK   ON   THE  MISSIONARIES. 

On  the  10th  of  August,  1781,  the  long- 
threatened  arrest  of  the  missionaries  approached 
a  crisis.  The  jealousy  of  the  Governor  of  De- 
troit, Arend  Scuiler  de  Peyster,  still  continuing 
against  the  Moravian  missions,  the  Indian  agent 
at  the  great  council  of  the  Iroquois,  or  Five 
Nations,  held  at  Niagara,  requested  them  to 
take  up  the  Christian  Indians  and  their  teach- 


116     EARLY  HISTORY  OP  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

ers  and  carry  them  away.  This  the  Iroquois 
agreed  to  do;  but,  not  choosing  to  do  it  them- 
selves, sent  a  message  to  the  Chippewas  and 
Ottawas,  that  they  made  them  a  present  of  the 
Indian  congregation  "to  make  soup  of,"  as 
much  as  to  say,  murder  them.  The  Chippewas 
and  Ottawas  refused,  saying  they  had  no  reason 
for  so  doing.  The  same  message  was  then  sent 
to  the  Hurons,  at  the  instigation  of  Captain 
Pipes,  a  Delaware  Indian,  very  hostile  to  the 
missionaries.  The  Hurons  accepted  the  invita- 
tion, and  after  a  great  feast,  at  which  they 
roasted  a  whole  ox,  they  began  to  put  the 
plan,  very  secretly,  into  execution — but  under 
the  pretense  of  friendship  and  to  save  the 
Christian  Indians  from  the  dangers  which  sur- 
rounded them.  Accordingly  on  the  10th  of 
August  they  made  their  appearance  at  Gnaden- 
hutten,  to  the  number  of  three  hundred  war- 
riors, headed  by  an  English  officer,  with  the 
Half  King  of  the  Hurons  and  Captain  Pipes, 
bearing  the  standard  of  Great  Britain. 


INTERFERENCE  OF  A  SORCERER.     117 

The  Christian  Indians  treated  them  kindly, 
and  gave  them  plenty  of  provisions  of  the  best 
they  had.  The  behavior  of  the  British  officer 
and  the  savages  was  at  first  friendly;  but  when 
the  missionaries  declined  going  with  them  im- 
mediately to  Sandusky — the  spot  proposed  for 
their  exile  —  but  chose  to  remain  where  they 
were  till  their  crops  of  corn,  potatoes,  etc., 
could  be  gathered  to  prevent  famine  in  the 
Winter,  they  became  very  abusive,  and  insisted 
on  their  going  immediately,  pretending  they 
had  an  abundance  of  food  for  the  supply  of 
them  all  at  that  place.  The  Indian  chiefs  were 
willing  for  them  to  remain,  but  the  British 
officer  was  so  importunate,  and  threatened  them 
with  the  displeasure  of  the  Governor,  that  they 
at  length  consented  to  take  them  by  force. 

INTERFERENCE   OF   A   SORCERER. 

At  one  consultation,  as  they  afterward  re- 
lated, they  had  decided  on  killing  all  the  white 
brethren  and  sistersj   but  before  putting  it  in 


118     EARLY  HISTORY  Oi?  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

execution  they  consulted  one  of  the  warriors, 
who  was  accounted  a  great  sorcerer,  as  to  the 
consequences  which  might  follow  from  the  act, 
as  all  savages  consider  the  character  of  priests 
as  sacred.  He  answered,  this  would  only  in- 
crease the  evil,  for  the  most  influential  of  the 
"believers  would  still  remain.  They  held  an- 
other council,  in  which  they  decided  on  killing 
the  assistant  teachers  as  well  as  the  mission- 
aries and  their  wives,  and  again  consulted  the 
sorcerer.  He  answered:  "You  have  resolved 
to  kill  my  dearest  friends;  but  if  you  hurt  one 
of  them  I  know  what  I  will  do."  His  threats 
alarmed  them  and  they  gave  up  the  design. 

FURTHER   AGGRESSIONS. 

The  savages  soon  became  very  insolent,  and, 
although  supplied  with  all  the  meat  they  needed, 
commenced  shooting  the  cattle  and  hogs  in  the 
streets,  and  would  not  allow  their  carcasses  to 
be  removed,  so  that  the  stench  soon  became 
quite  insupportable. 


FURTHER  AGGRESSIONS.  119 

On  the  second  day  of  September  the  mission- 
aries, Zeisberger,  Senseman,  and  Heckewelder, 
were  summoned  before  a  council  of  war,  who 
insisted  on  an  immediate  answer,  whether  they 
would  leave  the  place  or  not.  On  their  declin- 
ing to  go,  they  were  seized  by  a  party  of 
Hurons,  and  declared  prisoners  of  war.  As 
they  were  dragged  along  to  the  camp,  an  In- 
dian aimed-  a  blow  with  a  lance  at  brother  Sen- 
seman's  head,  but  missed  his  aim.  When  they 
were  in  the  camp  the  death-song  was  sung 
over  them,  and  the  missionaries  stripped  of 
their  clothing  to  their  shirts.  While  this  was 
doing  a  party  rushed  into  the  missionaries' 
dwelling-houses,  and  plundered  and  destroyed 
their  furniture,  books,  papers,  etc.  They  were 
all  now  led  into  the  tent  of  the  British  officer, 
who,  seeing  their  distress,  expressed  some  com- 
passion?  and  said  this  treatment  was  against 
his  intention,  although  he  had  orders  to  take 
them  by  force  if  they  refused  to  go  willingly. 
They  were  next  led   to   the  Huron   camp  and 


120      EARLY  HISTORY  OP  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

confined  in  two  huts.  After  they  were  thus 
secured  they  saw  a  party  of  warriors  march 
off  for  Salem  and  Schoenbrunn,  which  caused 
them  much  uneasiness  as  to  what  their  families 
might  suffer.  In  the  dusk  of  the  evening  they 
broke  open  the  mission-house,  and  took  Michael 
Jung,  and  sister  Heckewelder  and  her  child 
prisoners.  Mr.  Jung  narrowly  escaped  the  blow 
of  a  tomahawk  aimed  at  his  head.  Having 
plundered  the  house,  they  brought  brother  Jung, 
about  midnight,  to  Gnadenhutten,  and  shut  him 
up  with  the  other  missionaries.  Mrs.  Hecke- 
welder and  child  they  left  at  Salem,  at  the 
earnest  entreaty  of  the  Indian  sisters,  when 
she  and  her  child  were  safely  conducted  up  by 
the  Christian  Indians  next  morning.  During 
the  same  night  some  Hurons,  who  seem  to  hare 
taken  the  lead  in  mischief,  came  to  Schoen- 
brunn, and  broke  open  the  mission-house,  tak- 
ing brother  Jung  and  his  wife,  and  sisters 
Zeisberger  and  Senseman  out  of  their  beds. 
The  house  was  plundered  of  its  furniture,  the 


CONDUCT  OP   THE  BELIEVING  INDIANS.     121 

beds  ripped  open  and  feathers  thrown  out,  and 
the  church  robbed  of  every  thing  valuable; 
when  they  put  all  into  canoes  and  returned 
to  Gnadenhutten.  Sister  Senseman  had  been 
brought  to  bed  three  nights  previously,  and 
was  now  hurried  off  by  these  merciless  barba- 
rians in  a  dark  and  rainy  night.  But  God, 
who  does  all  things  well,  suffered  not  her  or 
the  child  to  receive  any  injury,  by  imparting 
to  her  an  uncommon  degree  of  strength  and 
fortitude.  Early  on  the  morning  of  the  fourth 
day,  they  led  this  company  into  Gnadenhutten, 
singing  the  death-song.  The  day  following  the 
prisoners  were  allowed  to  see  each  other  and 
converse,  when  their  resignation  and  composure 
greatly  moved  the  savages. 

CONDUCT    OF   THE   BELIEVING  INDIANS. 

In  the  beginning  of  these  troubles,  the  be- 
havior of  the  believing  Indians  much  resembled 
that  of  the  disciples  of  our  blessed  Savior; 
they  forsook    their    teachers    and    fled.     When 


122     EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

they  got  together  in  the  woods,  they  wept  so 
loud  that  the  air  resounded  with  their  lamenta- 
tions. But  soon  recovering  from  their  fright, 
they  returned  and  assisted  the  missionaries  all 
they  could;  recovering  many  of  their  articles 
by  purchase  or  persuasion  from  the  savages, 
and  bringing  them  blankets  to  cover  them  by 
night,  and  fetching  them  again  early  in  the 
morning  lest  the  Hurons  should  steal  them. 

MAGNANIMITY   OF   AN  INDIAN  FEMALE. 

Amid  all  this  cruel  and  vicious  conduct  of 
the  Hurons,  there  was  found  one  heart  that 
commiserated  their  sufferings.  A  young  wo- 
man of  this  tribe,  who  witnessed  the  cruel 
conduct  of  her  countrymen,  said  to  an  Indian 
sister,  she  should  never  forget  this  abuse,  nor 
could  she  sleep  all  night  for  distress.  Ani- 
mated by  the  most  generous  feelings,  early 
that  evening  she  got  possession  of  a  very 
active  horse  belonging  to  Captain  Pipe*,  and 
entirely  alone  rode  all  night  through  the  wilder- 


EXILE   OF   THE   MISSIONARIES.  123 

ness.  Before  noon  the  next  day  she  reached 
Fort  Pitt,  where  she  gave  an  account  of  the 
danger  of  the  missionaries  and  of  their  congre- 
gations, urging  an  immediate  attempt  for  their 
release.  She  had  been  gone  but  a  short  time 
when  the  Indians  were  informed  of  it,  and 
made  instant  pursuit;  but  so  bold  was  her 
riding,  and  so  active  the  animal  she  bestrode, 
that  they  could  not  get  within  sight  of  her, 
and  gave  up  the  chase.  The  Hurons  were 
greatly  enraged  with  the  missionaries,  believing 
they  had  hired  her  to  bring  the  Americans  to 
their  rescue.  The  commander  at  Fort  Pitt,  it 
seems,  had  determined  to  send  a  force  to  their 
rescue,  but  was  providentially  prevented;  which 
was  fortunate  for  the  missionaries,  as  they  would 
probably  have  been  killed  on  the  first  appear- 
ance of  the  Americans. 

EXILE   OP  THE   MISSIONARIES. 

L  After   four    days'    imprisonment,  they  were 
owed  to  join  their  congregations;  but  find- 


124      EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

ing  the  Hurons  were  determined  continually  to 
harass  them  till  they  removed,  they  finally 
concluded  to  emigrate.  Accordingly  on  the 
11th  of  September,  1781,  they  abandoned  their 
three  towns  of  Schoenbrunn,  Gnadenhutten,  and 
Salem,  with  much  heaviness  of  heart  and  great 
regret,  leaving  in  them  the  larger  portion  of 
their  possessions.  They  had  already  lost  more 
than  two  hundred  head  of  cattle,  and  four 
hundred  hogs;  and  now  left  three  hundred 
acres  of  corn  almost  ready  for  harvesting,  be- 
sides large  stores  of  old  corn,  with  cabbages, 
potatoes,  garden  fruits,  etc.  At  a  moderate 
calculation  their  loss  was  above  twelve  thou- 
sand dollars.  But  that  which  most  grieved 
them  was  the  loss  of  all  their  books  and  writ- 
ings in  the  Delaware  language,  compiled  for  the 
instruction  of  the  Indian  youth.  These  were 
all  burned  by  the  savages,  who  hated  every 
thing  that  tended  to  turn  them  from  the  heathen 
practices  of  their  forefathers.  A  troop  of  Hu- 
rons, commanded  by   British  officers,   escorted 


SEVERITIES   OF  THE   JOURNEY.  125 

them,  inclosing  them  on  every  side,  for  the 
distance  of  some"  miles.  Their  course  lay  along 
the  shores  of  the  River  Walhonding,  some  in 
canoes,  and  some  by  land,  on  the  route  to 
Sandusky  Creek.  Owing  to  the  hurry  and  con- 
fusion a  number  of  the  canoes  sunk,  and  the 
travelers  in  them  lost  all  their  provisions,  and 
articles  saved  from  the  sack  of  their  towns. 
The  number  of  exiles  was  about  five  hundred. 
The  emigrants  by  land  drove  the  cattle,  a 
pretty  large  herd,  collected  from  Schoenbrunn 
and  Salem.  Although  the  fatigues  and  suffer- 
ings of  the  journey  were  very  great,  yet  broth- 
erly love  prevailed  in  the  congregation,  and 
daily  meetings  were  held  for  prayer. 

SEVERITIES   OF   THE   JOURNEY. 

At  Goskhosink,  or  Owl  Creek,  so  named  from 
the  great  number  of  those  birds  formerly  found 
there,  the  exiles  left  their  canoes  and  all  went 
by  land.  The  savages  now  drove  them  on  like 
a  herd  of  cattle,  whipping  the   horses  of  the 


126      EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

missionaries,  and  often  not  allowing  the  females 
time  to  -nurse  their  children.  'The  road  much 
of  the  way  led  through  swampy  ground,  making 
it  very  tedious  and  wearisome  traveling. 

SANDUSKY   CREEK. 

On  the  11th  of  October  they. reached  San- 
dusky Creek,  about  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  miles  from  Gnadenhutten.  Here  the  Huron 
Indians  left  them,  in  the  midst  of  the  wilder- 
ness, where  there  was  little  or  no  game,  nor 
any  provisions,  as  they  had  promised  there 
should  be.  After  roving  about  some  days,  they 
finally  fixed  on  Upper  Sandusky  to  spend  the 
Winter,  and  built  small  huts  of  bark  and  logs. 
They  were  nearly  destitute  of  blankets,  and 
the  provisions  they  had  brought  with  them  ex- 
hausted— the  savages  having  stolen  every  thing 
from  them  on  the  journey,  only  leaving  them  a 
few  kettles  for  cooking.  During  the  building 
of  the  huts,  the  evening  meetings  were  held  in 
the  open  air,  by  large  fires,  for  they  could  not 


ORDERED   TO  DETROIT.  127 

live  without  their  social  meetings  for  piayer, 
any  more  than  they  could  without  food.  )They 
often  thought  of  the  Israelites  in  the  wilder- 
ness, and  of  that  bread  by  which  they  were 
fed  from  Heaven.  In  these  straits  a  few  of 
the  missionaries  and  Indian  brethren  returned 
to  the  settlements  on  the  Tuscarawas  to  collect 
some  of  the  corn  left  in  the  fields,  and  trans- 
port all  this  long  distance;  a  journey  full  as 
tiresome  as  that  of  the  children  of  Jacob  into 
Egypt  to  buy  corn  of  Joseph. 

THE   MISSIONARIES   ORDERED   TO   DETROIT. 

The  last  of  October,  the  Governor  of  Detroit 
sent  a  message  to  the  missionaries,  directing 
them  to  come  to  him.  The  brethren  Ziesberger, 
Heckewelder,  Senseman,  and  Edwards,  with  four 
Indian  assistants,  went  on  this  journey,  while 
Jungman  and  Michael  Jung  remained  with  the 
congregation  at  Sandusky.  They  reached  De- 
troit the  3d  of  November.  At  first,  the  Gov- 
ernor,  Arend    Scuiler   de  Peyster,  used  them 


128     EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

harshly;  accusing  them  of  carrying  on  a  cor- 
respondence with  his  enemies,  the  Americans. 
Captain  Pipe,  their  old  enemy,  appeared  as  their 
accuser;  but  as  he  could  substantiate  none  of 
his  charges,  the  Governor  allowed  them  to  return 
to  the  Indian  converts,  but  would  not  suffer 
them  to  go  back  to  Gnadenhutten.  He,  more- 
over, redeemed  four  of  their  watches  from  the 
Huron  Indians,  which  they  had  sold  to  the 
traders,  gave  them  new  clothes,  and  kindly 
entertained  them  at  his  own  house ;  and  finally 
dismissed  them  with  many  good  wishes.-  They 
reached  Sandusky  the  22d  of  November,  to  the 
great  joy  of  the  poor  Indians. 

SUFFERINGS   DURING   THE   WINTER. 

That  "Winter  they  suffered  greatly  from  fam- 
ine and  cold,  and  Avould  have  fared  still  worse, 
but  for  the  kindness  of  two  Indian  traders, 
M'Cormick  and  Robbins,  who  bought  corn  for 
them  and  assisted  them  all  in  their  power. 
By  the  1st  of  December  they  had  built  a  new 


SUFFERINGS  DURING  THE  WINTER.    129 

chapel,  in  which  they  celebrated  Christmas ;  but, 
having  neither  bread  nor  wine,  could  not  keep 
the  holy  communion.  In  January  and  February 
many  of  their  cattle  died  from  hunger,  and  the 
severity  of  the  cold.  The  famine  also  increased 
among  the  Indians,  who  had  to  support  life  by 
digging  for  ground-nuts,  a  species  of  wild  po- 
tato, and  the  carcasses  of  the  dead  cattle.  Prov- 
identially many  deer  came  into  their  neighbor- 
hood during  the  cold  weather  and  were  killed 
by  the  hunters.  The  missionaries  fared  no 
better  than  their  congregation,  and  were  often 
dependent  on  them  for  a  meal  of  ground-nuts, 
having  nothing  in  their  huts  of  their  own. 
9 


130     EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

THE   MORAVIAN   MISSIONS  — CONTINUE! 
VISIT   OF   THE   HURONS. 

During  this  miserable  situation  the  Half 
King  of  the  Hurons,  with  a  retinue  of  savages 
and  white  people,  made  them  a  visit.  One  of 
the  Christian  Indians  went  to  him  and  told  him 
there  was  no  meat  to  be  had  but  that  -of  the 
dead  cattle,  and  added,  "Formerly,  whenever 
you  came  to  Gnadenhutten,  we  gave  you  not 
only  enough  to  eat,  but  if  you  desired  sugar, 
bread,  butter,  milk,  pork,  beef,  or  any  other 
article,  we  always  gave  it  to  you  and  to  your 
warriors.  But  you  bade  us  rise  and  go  with 
you,  and  that  we  needed  not  to  mind  leaving  our 
plantations,  for  we  should  find  enough  to  live 
on  here.  Now,  if  any  one  catches  a  bird,  or 
any  other  animal,  his  first  care  is  to  get  food 


FURTHER  TROUBLES   OF   THE   MISSION.     131 

for  it;  but  you  have  brought  us  hither  and 
never  offered  a  grain  of  corn  to  any  of  us. 
Thus  you  have  obtained  your  whole  aim,  and 
may  rejoice  that  we  are  perishing  for  want." 
The  Half  King  seemed  struck  with  the  reproof, 
and  went  away  in  silence. 

FURTHER  TROUBLES   OF   THE   MISSION. 

At  the  instigation  of  the  Hurons,  and  other 
heathen  savages,  who  were  determined  to  break 
up  the  mission,  and  disperse  the  Christian  In- 
dians, the  Governor  of  Detroit,  on  the  1st  of 
March,  1782,  again  summoned  the  missionaries 
to  appear  before  him,  with  their  families.  The 
Indian  congregation  were  overwhelmed  with 
grief,  for  they  felt  when  they  were  gone,  that 
they  would  be  a  flock  without  a  shepherd,  in 
the  midst  of  ravenous  wolves.  The  mission- 
aries also  felt  that  they  would  rather  die  than 
leave  their  charge,  but  there  was  no  alternative. 
They  were  compelled  to  abandon  their  homes 
and  take  up  their  march  through  the  wilderness. 


132      EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 
MASSACRE   AT   GNADENHUTTEN. 

The  day  before  they  started  on  their  journey, 
a  warrior  from  the  Muskingum  brought  the 
distressing  news  of  the  murder  of  ninety-three 
of  their  congregation,  who  had  gone  back  to 
the  deserted  villages  on  the  Tuscarawas  for  the 
purpose  of  collecting  corn  for  their  starving 
relatives.  While  there  a  party  of  Americans 
under  the  command  of  Colonel  "Williamson,  from 
the  Mingo  Bottoms  on  the  Ohio,  surprised  and 
took  them  prisoners,  and  afterward  put  them  all 
to  death.  This  transaction  took  place  on  the 
8th  of  March,  and  for  cool-blooded  atrocity 
has  no  parallel  in  the  whole  circle  of  American 
history.  The  particulars  of  this  horrid  transac- 
tion have  been  often  before  the  public,  and  need 
not  be  again  detailed  to  tarnish  the  fame  of 
Western  borderers.  In  mitigation  of  the  above 
wickedness,  it  may  be  6tated  that  in  the  council 
held  by  the  borderers  as  to  the  fate  of  their 
prisoners,  a  majority  voted  for  murdering  them 


MASSACRE   AT   ONADENHUTTEN.  133 

the  next  day,  while  a  large  minority  were  op- 
posed to  it,  and  called  God  to  witness  that  they 
were  innocent  of  the  blood  of  these  harmless 
Christian  Indians.  To  describe  the  grief  and 
horror  of  the  Indian  congregation  at  Sandusky, 
on  receiving  the  news  of  the  murder  of  their 
friends,  is  impossible.  Parents  mourned  the  loss 
of  children,  husbands  their  wives,  and  wives  their 
husbands;  children  for  their  parents,  brothers 
for  their  sisters,  and  sisters  for  their  brothers, 
in  one  wide,  weltering  stream  of  woe.  And 
now  having  lost  their  teachers  who  used  to 
sympathize  with  them,  and  strengthen  them  in 
their  reliance  on  the  faithfulness  of  God,  their 
grief  was  nearly  insupportable.  But  they  mur- 
mured not,  nor  did  they  call  for  vengeance  on 
their  murderers,  but  prayed  for  them.  Their 
only  consolation  was  the  belief  that  their  mur- 
dered relatives  were  now  in  heaven.  The  mur- 
derers themselves  acknowledged  that  they  were 
good  Indians,  for  said  they,  "they  sung  and 
prayed  to  their  last  breath." 


134     EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 


DEPARTURE   OP   THE  MISSIONARIES. 

On  the  15th  of  March  the  missionaries,  with 
many  tears,  took  leave  of  the  remnant  of  their 
congregation,  for  so  many  years  under  their 
charge;  one  part  of  which  was  about  to  be 
imprisoned,  another  part  already  murdered,  and 
the  remainder  in  danger  of  being  dispersed  and 
forsaken.  In  this  journey  the  missionaries  were 
conducted  by  a  Frenchman,  in  place  of  the 
British  officer. 

DISPERSION   OF   THE   CHRISTIAN  INDIANS. 

The  Indians  left  at  Sandusky,  after  the  de- 
parture of  the  missionaries,  living  in  continual 
fear  of  their  lives,  dispersed  among  the  adjacent 
tribes,  and  some  to  the  River  Maumee.  It  was 
providential  that  they  did  so ;  for  early  in  May 
their  station  was  visited  by  another  party  of 
white  men,  for  the  purpose  of  destroying  them, 
only  a  short  time  after  then*  departure;  but 
venturing  too  far  into  the  Indian  country  were 


NEW  GNADENHUTTEN.  135 

themselves  attacked  and  defeated,  and  one  of 
their  commanders,  Colonel  Crawford,  taken  and 
burnt  alive  at  the  stake.  Colonel  Williamson 
died  in  jail,  in  Washington,  Pennsylvania. 

NEW   GNADENHUTTEN. 

In  July  the  missionaries  obtained  liberty  from 
the  Governor  to  make  a  settlement  on  the 
Huron  River,  thirty  miles  from  Detroit,  and 
soon  collected  a  part  of  their  congregation 
around  them — so  loth  were  these  good  men 
to  leave  the  poor  Indians,  although  repeatedly 
offered  the  chance  of  returning  to  Pennsylvania. 
The  settlement  on  Huron  River  they  called 
New  Gnadenhutten.  The  Governor  and  his 
wife,  whose  hearts  had  become  tender  on  see- 
ing the  sufferings  and  faithfulness  of  the  mis- 
sionaries, assisted  them  in  many  things  neces- 
sary for  their  comfort,  and  in  building  the  new 
town.  The  20th  of  July  the  missionaries,  Zeis- 
berger  and  Jungman,  with  their  wives,  and  the 
single    missionaries,    Edwards    and    Jung,   left 


136     EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

Detroit,  with  nineteen  Indian  brethren  and 
sisters,  and  crossing  over  Lake  St.  Clair,  set- 
tled the  next  day  on  the  south  side  of  Huron 
River,  not  far  from  the  mouth.  The  mission- 
aries, Heckewelder  and  Senseman,  with  their 
families,  remained  at  Detroit,  with  the  rest  of 
the  believing  Indians,  to  attend  to  the  concerns 
of  the  reviving  mission  in  that  place.  Here 
they  laid  out  gardens  and  plantations,  built 
huts  of  bark,  and  maintained  themselves  by 
hunting  and  fishing.  The  forests  were  filled 
with  sycamore,  beech,  ash,  lime,  oak,  poplar, 
maple,  and  hickory  trees,  with  the  largest  sas- 
safras they  had  seen  any  where.  Wild  hemp 
grew  in  abundance,  but  salt  was  scarce,  and 
could  not  be  had  even  for  money.  They  there- 
fore thought  themselves  highly  blessed  when 
they  discovered  some  salt  springs,  which  yielded 
them  an  abundant  supply.  There  were  also 
springs  of  fresh  water  in  plenty.  In  the  begin- 
ning they  were  much  tormented  by  musketoes 
and  other  insects,  so  that  they  had  to  keep  up 


NEW   GNADENHUTTEN.  137 

and  sleep  in  a  thick  smoke.  But  they  gradually- 
lessened  in  numbers  as  the  ground  became 
cleared.  In  August  they  commenced  to  build, 
and  finished  a  street  of  block  houses,  and  by 
the  21st  of  September  moved  into  their  new 
house  and  celebrated  the  Lord's  Supper  to  the 
great  comfort  of  the  congregation.  Others  of 
their  old  flock  gradually  joined  them,  and  were 
kindly  treated  by  the  inhabitants  of  Detroit  as 
they  passed  through  on  their  way  to  the  new 
station.  The  Governor  also  supplied  them  with 
food  till  they  could  raise  their  own.  In  the 
Autumn  some  Chippewa  Indians  visited  them, 
but  as  to  the  Gospel  they  only  listened  to  it  in 
silence.  They  are  generally  a  peaceable  tribe, 
but  very  indolent;  plant  but  little  corn;  live 
chiefly  by  hunting;  boil  acorns  for  bread  to 
their  meat,  and,  like  the  Calmuc  Tartars,  eat 
the  flesh  of  dead  horses.  By  the  middle  of 
November  fifty-three  Indians  had  rejoined  them. 
The  Winter  was  passed  in  comparative  comfort; 
the  Indians  bartering  their  skins  and  venison, 


138      EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

obtained  in  hunting,  for  corn  at  Detroit.  They 
also  made  baskets,  canoes,  etc.,  for  sale.  In 
the  Spring  a  large  quantity  of  maple  sugar  was 
manufactured. 

NEWS   OP   PEACE. 

In  May,  1783,  the  missionaries  received  the 
joyful  news  of  peace  between  England  and  the 
United  States.  In  the  course  of  the  year 
forty-three  more  of  the  scattered  congregation 
joined  them;  but  many  were  kept  back  by  the 
influence  and  discouragements  of  the  heathen 
savages,  among  whom  they  had  taken  shelter. 
The  new  chapel  was  consecrated,  and  their 
spiritual  comforts  were  greatly  multiplied. 

TRANSACTIONS   OF   1784. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  year  a  most  extra- 
ordinary frost  set  in,  extending  over  all  that 
country.  All  the  rivers  and  lakes  were  frozen, 
and  the  oldest  inhabitants  of  Detroit  did  not 
remember  ever  to  have  seen  such  a  deep  fall 


FAMINE   AT  NEW  GNADENIIUTTEN.         139 

of  snow.  In  many  places  it  lay  five  or  six 
feet  deep,  and  was  the  cause  of  much  suffer- 
ing. The  6th  of  March  it  was  still  four  feet 
deep.  About  the  end  of  the  month  it  began 
to  melt,  but  the  ice  on  Huron  River  did  not 
break  till  the  4th  of  April,  and  Lake  St.  Clair 
was  not  free  in  the  beginning  of  May. 

FAMINE   AT  NEW   GNADENHUTTEN. 

As  no  one  expected  so  long  a  Winter,  no 
provision  was  made  adequate  to  the  wants  of 
man  or  beast.  The  early  frosts  in  the  preced- 
ing Autumn  had  destroyed  a  large  portion  of 
the  crops  of  corn,  so  that  the  Indians  soon 
began  to  suffer.  It  was  very  dear  at  Detroit, 
and  the  bakers  refused  to  sell  bread  at  a  dollar 
per  pound.  The  deep  snow  prevented  hunting. 
The  Indians  had  to  seek  their  food  wherever 
they  could  find  it,  and  some  lived  on  noth- 
ing but  wild  herbs.  At  length  a  general  fam- 
ine prevailed,  and  the  hollow  eyes  and  sunken 
cheeks  of  the  poor  people  bore  sad  tokens  of 


140      EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

their  distress;  yet  they  appeared  resigned  and 
cheerful,  and  God  in  due  time  relieved  them. 
A  large  herd  of  deer  strayed  unexpectedly  into 
the  neighborhood  of  their  town,  of  which  the 
Indians  killed  above  a  hundred.  This  they 
accomplished  by  walking  over  the  deep  snow 
on  snow-shoes,  which  are  a  kind  of  racket 
made  of  a  hoop,  across  which  are  stretched 
thongs  of  deer-skin,  in  such  a  way  as  to  sup- 
port the  wearer  from  sinking  into  the  snow. 
A  part  of  this  venison  was  bartered  for  corn 
at  Detroit,  so  that  they  did  not  suffer  to  that 
extremity  they  had  done  in  1781  at  Sandusky. 
As  soon  as  the  snow  melted,  they  went  in 
search  of  wild  potatoes,  and  came  home  loaded 
with  them.  They  are  a  farinaceous  and  very 
nourishing  article  of  food.  When  the  ice  was 
gone  they  caught  a  great  number  of  fishes. 
Bilberries  were  their  next  resource,  of  which 
they  gathered  great  quantities,  soon  after  which 
their  crops  of  Indian  corn  were  ready  for  roast- 
ing ears,  of  which   God  blessed  them  with   a 


PROGRESS   OF  NEW   GNADENHUTTEN.       141 

very  great  crop,  so  that  no  one  lacked  for  any 
thing. 

PROGRESS  OF  NEW  GNADENHUTTEN. 

The  industry  of  the  Christian  Indians  had 
now  rendered  this  place  a  very  pleasant  and 
regular  town.  The  houses  were  all  well  built, 
as  if  they  intended  to  live  and  die  in  them; 
the  country,  formerly  a  wilderness,  was  now 
cultivated  to  that  extent  that  it  afforded  a  suf- 
ficient maintenance  for  them.  The  rest  now 
enjoyed  was  particularly  sweet  after  such  ter- 
rible scenes  of  trouble  and  distress.  But  to- 
ward the  end  of  the  year  1784  it  appeared 
that  they  would  also  be  obliged  to  quit  thi3 
place.  The  Chippewas  complained  of  their  set- 
tling on  their  lands,  and  said  they  only  ex- 
pected them  to  remain  till  peace  was  restored; 
and  threatened  to  murder  some  of  them  in  order 
to  force  the  others  to  depart.  The  new  Gov- 
ernor of  Detroit,  Major  Ancrom,  also  sent  them 
word  not  to  clear  any  more  land,  as  nothing 


142     EARLY  HISTORY  OF 'THE  NORTH-WEST. 

was  yet  settled  as  to  the  bounds  of  the  terri- 
tory or  government.  The  missionaries,  there- 
fore, concluded  it  most  prudent  to  make  prepa- 
ration for  returning  to  the  south  side  of  Lake 
Erie — they  being  now  on  the  north  side,  in 
Canada — and  to  settle  on  the  River  Walhonding, 
or  at  their  old  stations. 

TRANSACTIONS   OP  1785. 

In  the  course  of  this  year  the  spiritual  con- 
cerns of  the  Indian  congregation  were  very  fa- 
vorable; so  that  they  were  filled  with  joy  and 
consolation  after  so  many  outward' troubles. 

RAVAGES   OF   THE   WOLVES. 

During  the  Winter  the  wolves  were  very 
troublesome,  traversing  the  country  in  packs, 
and  tore  a  Chippewa  Indian  man  and  his  wife 
to  pieces  near  the  settlement.  One  of  the  In- 
dian brethren  was  chased  by  them  for  several 
miles  on  the  ice,  but  having  skates  on  his  feet 
escaped.     The  missionaries  also   lost  all   their 


PROCEEDINGS  AT  NEW  GNADENHL TTEN.     143 

horses  by  their   eating  a  certain  juicy  plant, 
which  proved  a  deadly  poison. 

PROCEEDINGS  AT  NEW  GNADENHUTTEN. 

Although  they  had  begun  to  make  prepara- 
tion for  moving,  yet  from  the  unsettled  state  of 
the  savages  they  concluded  it  best  to  stay  this 
season,  and  raise  one  more  crop  on  the  Huron. 
In  May  the  missionaries,  Jungman  and  Sense- 
man,  returned  with  their  families  to  Bethlehem 
by  the  way  of  the  lakes  and  the  Mohawk  River, 
and  left  the  mission  under  the  care  of  brothers 
Zeisberger,  Heckewelder,  and  Edwards. 

In  July  brother  Edwards  went  to  Fort  Pitt, 
where  he  learned  that  Congress  had  reserved 
lands  at  their  old  settlements  on  the  Tuscarawas 
for  the  use  of  the  mission,  and  had  directed  the 
Surveyor- General  to  measure  them  off  as  much 
land  as  he  might  think  they  needed.  This,  how- 
ever, was  not  accomplished  till  after  the  close  of 
the  Indian  war  in  1795,  when  they  received  four 
thousand  acres  at  each  of  their  old  settlements, 


144     EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

making  twelve  thousand  acres.  This  news  gave 
great  joy  to  the  congregation.  One  thing  after 
another  delayed  their  return;  and  now  the 
Delawares  and  Shawnees,  being  at  war  with 
the  Americans,  declared  they  would  prevent 
their  going  back  by  force. 

THE   CHIPPEWAS    ORDER   THEM   AWAY. 

Early  in  the  year  1786  the  missionaries  re- 
ceived another  message  from  the  Chippewa 
chief  on  whose  territories  they  were  living, 
stating  his  determination  that  they  should  re- 
main there  no  longer;  and,  besides  this,  a  band 
of  murderers  and  robbers  of  the  Chippewa  tribe 
rendered  the  whole  neighborhood  very  unsafe. 
The  missionaries  therefore  concluded,  notwith- 
standing the  threats  of  the  savages  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  Tuscarawas,  to  remove  there, 
and.  take  possession  of  their  old  settlements, 
and  if  they  could  not  accomplish  it  this  Spring, 
to  settle  in  the  first  convenient  place  they  could 
find.     The  new  commander  of  Detroit,  Major 


DEPARTURE  FROM  NEW  GNADENHUTTEN.   145 

Ancrom,  approved  this  plan,  and  offered  them 
vessels  and  provisions  to  carry  them  to  the 
mouth  of  Cuyahoga  River,  whence  the  com- 
munication is  easy  to  the  heads  of  the  Tus- 
carawas. He  also  assisted  them  in  selling 
their  improvements  for  a  small  sum  of  money; 
so  that  their  labor  was  not  entirely  lost.  They 
accepted  this  kind  offer  thankfully,  and  as  a 
gracious  interference  of  the  Lord  in  their  be- 
half. 

DEPARTURE   FROM   NEW   GNADENHUTTEN. 

The  20th  of  April  they  met  for  the  last  time 

in  the  chapel  to  offer  up  prayer  and  praise  to 

God  for  all  his  favors  and  mercies  received  at 

that  place.      Embarking   with   their   effects   in 

twenty-two  canoes,  they  proceeded  to  Detroit, 

where  they  were  kindly  entertained  for  several 

days — all  the  inhabitants  having  a  high  opinion 

of  the  fair-dealing  and  upright  conduct  of  the 

Indian  brethren.     For  although  they  had  run 

largely  in   debt   during  the  season  of  famine, 
10 


146      EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

yet  by  their  industry  and  economy  they  were 
enabled  to  discharge  the  whole.  One  poor  man 
with  a  large  family  of  small  children  fell  short, 
and  the  missionaries  were  about  to  assist  him 
in  the  payment,  when  his  wife,  who  was  walk- 
ing in  the  field,  happened  to  find  a  guinea, 
which  she  supposed  was  a  piece  of  brass;  but, 
when  told  its  value,  they  took  it  to  the  trader, 
paid  their  debt,  and  had  a  few  shillings  left. 

THE   TRAVELERS  LEAVE   DETROIT. 

On  the  28th  of  April  they  embarked  on 
board  two  trading  vessels,  owned  by  the  North- 
West  Company,  called  the  Beaver  and  Makina. 
Owing  to  contrary  winds  they  were  a  long  time 
on  the  voyage,  being  driven  back  once  or  twice 
when  within  sight  of  their  destination.  For 
two  or  three  weeks  they  lay  on  the  shore, 
encamped  on  an  island;  and  when  out  in  the 
open  lake  among  the  waves,  the  Indians  were 
made  so  sick  by  the  rolling  of  the  vessels  that 
they  could  not  stand. 


TROUBLES  OP  THE  JOURNEY.      147 


TROUBLES  OP  THE  JOURNEY. 

The  28th  of  May,  four  weeks  from  the  time 
of  their  departure  —  the  voyage  being  often 
performed  in  forty-eight  hours — a  vessel  came 
from  Detroit  to  inquire  after  the  cause  of  the 
long  absence  of  the  schooners,  and  to  recall 
the  Beaver.  The  Makina  then  agreed  to  carry 
their  baggage,  and  let  the  congregation  get  on 
by  land  from  Sandusky  Bay. 

After  a  long  and  very  wearisome  journey  by 
the  shores  of  the  lake — some  in  light  bark- 
canoes,  hastily  built — they  reached  the  mouth 
of  the  Cuyahoga  the  8th  of  June.  Here  they 
built  more  canoes,  and  continued  their  voyage 
up  that  river  till  the  18th  of  that  month,  when 
they  reached  an  old  deserted  town  of  the  Ot- 
tawas,  about  one  hundred  and  forty  miles  dis- 
tant from  Fort  Pitt.  This  was  the  first  spot 
that  they  had  found  suitable  for  a  settlement, 
being  a  continuous  forest  from  the  mouth  of 
the  river  up  to  this  place. 


148     EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 


SETTLEMENT   OF   PILGERRAH. 

They  first  encamped  on  the  east  side  of  the 
river,  where  was  an  elevated  plain,  built  huts, 
and  cleared  some  ground  for  planting ;  and, 
although  so  late  in  the  season,  concluded  to 
put  in  some  Indian  corn  and  spend  the  Summer. 
This  place  they  called  Pilgerrah,  or  "Pilgrim's 
Rest."  Here  they  again  regulated  their  daily 
worship,  reestablished  the  statutes  of  the  con- 
gregation, and  God  blessed  their  labors.  Au- 
gust 13th  they  partook  of  the  Lord's  Supper, 
which  to  them  was  the  most  important  and 
blessed  of  all  festivals. 

REMARKS. 

Never  since  the  days  of  the  wanderings  of 
the  children  of  Israel  in  the  wilderness  has 
there  been  a  people  whose  situation,  in  many 
respects,  was  so  nearly  assimilated  to  that  of 
the  wanderers  under  the  charge  of  Moses  and 
Aaron.     Beset  with  enemies  on  their  right  hand 


PROCEEDINGS   AT    PILGERRAH.  149 

and  on  their  left,  persecuted  by  their  own  rela- 
tives, suffering  by  famine  and  privations  of 
every  kind,  they  yet  remained  firm  in  the 
cause  they  had  espoused,  and  never  rebelled, 
like  that  favored  people,  against  the  laws  of 
their  Master.  Whenever  they  had  a  chance 
for  rest,  like  the  Israelites  at  their  stations, 
there  they  set  up  the  tabernacle,  and  worshiped 
God  in  simplicity  and  in  truth.  Their  Canaan 
was  the  pleasant  country  on  the  Tuscarawas, 
from '  which  they  had  been  expelled,  and  to 
which  they  looked  forward  as  their  place  of 
rest  from  their  tiresome  journeys;  where  they 
had  enjoyed  much  spiritual  blessedness,  and 
hoped  to  lay  their  weary  bodies  when  they 
finally  departed  for  that  heavenly  Canaan,  the 
great  end  of  all  their  toils,  and  the  resting- 
place  from  all  earthly  sorrows. 

PROCEEDINGS   AT   PILGERRAH. 

Being  near  the  great  carrying-place  or  route 
from   the   heads   of  the   Muskingum   River   to 


150     EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

the  lakes,  they  were  enabled  to  procure  from 
traders  many  necessary  articles.  Congress  also 
about  this  time  ordered  a  quantity  of  corn  and 
blankets  to  be  given  them  from  Fort  M'Intosh. 
In  hunting  they  were  very  successful,  especially 
in  killing  deer,  bears,  and  moose-deer.  Their 
Moravian  brethren  at  Bethlehem  also  sent  them 
many  articles  of  clothing,  etc.,  by  way  of  Fort 
Pitt,  which  reached  them  in  August,  to  their 
great  relief  and  comfort. 

DEPARTURE    OF   MR.   HECKEWELDER. 

In  October,  1786,  brother  Heckewelder  took 
an  affecting  leave  of  the  congregation  he  had 
served  so  many  years,  and  returned  with  his 
family  to  Bethlehem,  attended  by  the  best 
wishes  and  prayers  of  the  people,  by  whom 
he  was  greatly  loved. 

SICKNESS   OF   THE   MISSIONARIES. 

Brother  Zeisberger  and  wife,  with  brother 
Edwards,  were  now  left  alone  in  charge  of  the 


TRANSACTIONS    OF    1787.  151 

mission.  They  had  just  recovered  from  a  severe 
illness,  which  is  the  first  time  any  notice  is 
taken  of  sickness  among  the  missionaries  for 
sixteen  years — proving  the  country  to  have 
been  remarkably  healthy — although  exposed  to 
great  fatigues  and  privations.  This  disease  was 
doubtless  taken  during  their  voyage  and  jour- 
ney on  the  shores  of  Lake  Erie,  which  have 
always  been  noted  for  their  malarious  atmos- 
phere from  its  first  discovery  to  this  day,  espe- 
cially in  the  Summer  and  Autumn. 

TRANSACTIONS   OF   1787. 

In  the  year  1787  the  mission  received  some 
notice  from  Congress,  and  an  offer  of  five 
hundred  bushels  of  corn  as  soon  as  they  re- 
turned to  their  old  towns  on  the  Tuscarawas. 
But  fresh  disturbances  breaking  out  among  the 
several  tribes,  they  were  prevented  from  going 
there  at  present.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Harmar 
sent  them  word  from  the  mouth  of  the  Mus- 
kingum that  they  might  now  receive  their  five 


152     EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

hundred  bushels  of  corn  and  one  hundred  blank- 
ets at  Fort  M'Intosh  if  they  would  go  there  for 
them.  General  Butler  also  wrote  to  brother 
Zeisberger  that  they  had  better  remain  at  Pil- 
gerrah  for  the  present.  The  Delaware  Indians 
at  this  time  insisted  on  their  removing  to  Pett- 
quotting,  on  what  is  now  called  the  Huron 
River,  in  the  present  State  of  Ohio.  The  con- 
gregation were  anxious  to  return  to  the  Tus- 
carawas, but  the  United  States  advised  them  to 
remain  where  they  were;  while  the  savages, 
on  the  contrary,  would  not  suffer  them  to  do 
so,  but  said  they  should  go  to  some  other  place. 
Accustomed  to  venture  their  lives  in  the  service 
of  the  Lord,  the  missionaries  were  unconcerned 
as  to  their  own  safety;  and  if  that  alone  had 
been  the  point  in  question,  they  would  not 
have  hesitated  a  moment  to  return  to  the  Tus- 
carawas; but  they  durst  not  bring  the  con- 
gregation under  their  care  into  so  dangerous  a 
situation.  They  therefore  proposed  to  the  In- 
dians to  give  up  all  thought  of  returning  for 


REMOVAL  FROM   PILGERRAfl.  153 

the  present;  but  at  the  same  time  leave  the 
Cuyahoga,  and  seek  some  spot  between  that 
river  and  the  Huron,  where  they  might  find  a 
peaceable  and  quiet  retreat.  This  was  agreed 
to  by  all,  and  some  Indian  brethren  set  out  the 
beginning  of  April,  1787,  to  seek  a  place  for  a 
new  settlement,  and  found  one  much  to  their 
mind.  In  the  mean  while  the  Indian  congrega- 
tion of  Pilgerrah  celebrated  <Lent  and  Easter 
in  a  blessed  manner.  The  public  reading  of 
the  Passion  of  our  Lord  was  attended  with  a 
remarkable  impression  on  the  hearts  of  all 
present.  The  congregation  could  not  suffi- 
ciently express  their  desire  to  hear  more  of  it, 
and  it  appeared  as  if  they  now  heard  this  great 
and  glorious  Word  for  the  first  time. 

REMOVAL  FROM   PILGERRAH. 

On  the  19  th  of  April  the  Christian  Indians 
closed  their  residence  here,  by  offering  up 
solemn  prayer  and  praise  in  their  chapels, 
which    they   had  used  but  a   short   time,   and 


154     EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

thanked  the  Lord  for  the  blessings  they  had 
received  at  this  place.  They  then  departed  in 
two  bands ;  one  by  water,  with,  brother  Ed- 
wards, and  one  by  land,  led  by  brother  Zeis- 
berger.  Those  by  water  had  to  pass  over  a 
considerable  part  of  Lake  Erie. 

GREAT   STORM. 

Before  they  left  the   Cuyahoga  a  dreadful 

storm  arose,  the  wind  blowing  from  the  lake. 

The  waves  beat  with  such  violence  against  the 

rocks  that  the  earth  seemed  to   tremble  with 

the    shock.      The    pilgrims   thanked   God   that 

they  were  yet  in  the  mouth  of  the  river  and 

not  upon  the  lake. 

i 

FINE   FISH. 

Being  in  want  of  provisions,  they  passed  the 
time  in  fishing,  and  one  night  pierced  above 
three  hundred  large  fish  with  their  spears  by 
torch-light.  They  were  of  a  fine  flavor,  and 
resembled  pikes  in  form,  weighing  from  three 


MORE   TRIALS   AND   DISAPPOINTMENTS.     155 

to  four  pounds  each.  A  part  of  these  they 
roasted  and  ate,  and  dried  the  rest  over  brush- 
wood fires  for  food  on  the  voyage. 

On  the  24th  of  the  month  the  party  by  land 
reached  the  place  of  destination,  and  the  party 
by  water  the  day  following.  It  appeared  like 
a  fruitful  orchard — numbers  of  wild  apple  and 
plum  trees  growing  here  and  there.  They  had 
never  settled  on  so  fertile  a  spot.  The  camp 
was  formed  about  a  league  from  the  take,  which 
in  these  parts  abounded  with  fish.  Wild  pota- 
toes, an  article  of  food  much  esteemed  by  the 
Indians,  grew  here  plentifully.  The  brethren 
rejoiced  at  the  thought  of  establishing  a  settle- 
ment in  so  pleasant  a  country,  especially  as  it 
was  not  frequented  by  those  savages  who  had 
heretofore  proved  such  troublesome  neighbors. 

MORE   TRIALS  AND   DISAPPOINTMENTS. 

Their  joy  was  of  short  duration.  On  the 
27th  of  the  month  a  Delaware  captain  arrived 
in  the  camp,  and  informed  them  they  should 


156     EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

not  remain  in  this  place,  but  live  with  them  at 
Sandusky;  adding  that  it  was  a  matter  posi- 
tively determined,  and  they  need  not  deliberate 
upon  it.  He  added,  as  usual,  the  most  solemn 
declarations  of  protection  and  safety,  and  also 
said  that  their  habitation  would  not  be  near 
any  heathen  town,  but  at  least  ten  miles  from 
the  nearest.  To  this  command  the  congrega- 
tion reluctantly  consented,  after  representing 
to  the  captain  the  malice,  treachery,  and  deceit 
of  the  Delaware  chiefs,  which  they  had  expe- 
rienced for  six  or  seven  years. 

REMOVAL   TO   PETTQUOTTESTG. 

In  the  beginning  of  May  they  were  joined 
by  Michael  Jung  and  John  Weygand  from 
Bethlehem,  and  soon  after  left  a  country  so 
pleasing  in  every  respect  with  much  sorrow. 
Their  course  lay  along  the  shores  of  the  lake, 
partly  by  water  and  part  by  land,  to  Pettquot- 
ting,  where  they  encamped  about  a  mile  from 
the  lake.     Here  they  found  the  fallacy  of  the 


CONVERSION  OF  A  NOTED  SAVAGE.    157 

statement  of  the  Delaware  chiefs,  for  their  resi- 
dence was  not  above  two  miles  from  the  towns 
of  the  savages.  They  finally,  with  the  consent 
of  the  chiefs,  fixed  on  a  spot  near  the  mouth 
of  the  river,  and  went  there  in  their  canoes  the 
11th  of  May,  and  before  night  a  small  village 
of  bark  huts  was  erected.  They  made  their 
plantations  on  the  west  bank  of  the  river,  but  4 
erected  their  dwelling-houses  on  the  east  side, 
which  was  higher  land.  This  place  they  called 
"New  Salem."  Here  they  celebrated  Ascen- 
sion Day  and  Whitsuntide,  meeting  in  the  open 
air,  and  on  the  6th  of  June  finished  and  con- 
secrated their  new  chapel,  which  was  larger  and 
better  built  than  the  one  at  Pilgerrah.  June 
9th  the  whole  congregation  attended  a  love- 
feast,  for  which  flour  had  been  sent  from  Beth- 
lehem. 

CONVERSION    OF   A  NOTED   SAVAGE. 

Among   the    savages   who   in    1787   became 
concerned  for  the  salvation  of  their  souls  was 


N 


158      EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

a  noted  profligate,  who  in  1781  threatened  the 
lives  of  the  missionaries,  and  had  often  lain  in 
ambush  to  kill  them,  but  without  success.  He 
was  traveling  and  came  without  design  to  Pil- 
gerrah,  where  he  heard  the  Gospel  with  great 
attention,  and  ardently  expressed  his  desire  to 
be  delivered  from  the  service  of  sin.  He  would 
not  leave  the  congregation;  but,  giving  up  his 
intended  journey,  staid  with  the  believing  In- 
dians, and,  turning  with  his  whole  heart  to  the 
Lord,  was  baptized  at  New  Salem  some  months 
after. 

MISSION   HISTORY   SINCE   1787. 

The  history  of  Loskiel  closes  at  the  middle 
of  the  year  1787,  at  which  time  their  prospects 
of  usefulness  were  very  flattering.  In  a  few 
years  after  this  the  war  commenced  generally 
among  the  Indian  tribes  against  the  United 
States,  and  was  not  closed  till  the  year  1795. 
Some  years  after  this  the  Moravian  Indians 
and  missionaries  returned  to  their  towns  on  the" 


MISSION  HISTORY  SINCE   1787.  159 

Tuscarawas,  where  Congress  had  already  sur- 
veyed for  them  three  tracts  of  four  thousand 
acres  each;  namely,  one  at  Schoenbrunn,  one 
at  Gnadenhutten,  and  one  at  Salem.  These 
tracts,  I  believe,  still  belong  to  the  Moravian 
Missionary  Society,  and  are  leased  for  a  term 
of  years,  the  rents  of  which  go  into  the  funds 
of  the  Society  for  the  support  of  the  Gospel 
among  the  Indians  of  North  America.  Mr. 
Heckewelder  rejoined  the  mission  after  their 
return,  and  I  find  was  living  at  Salem  and 
Gnadenhutten,  as  late  as  the  year  1805,  from 
a  meteorological  record  kept  at  that  place,  and 
published  in  Barton's  Medical  Journal.  Soon 
after  which,  from  the  rapid  increase  of  white 
settlers  all  around  them  on  the  United  States 
military  lands,  and  the  traders  urging  upon 
and  supplying  them  with  whisky,  their  con- 
dition became  very  distressing  and  troublesome. 
Finding  that  little  permanent  good  -could  be 
expected  for  the  poor  Indians  while  living 
among    the    unchristian    whites,    they    finally 


160     EARLY  HISTORY  OP  THE  NC  RTH-WEST. 

removed  to  the  frontiers,  and   settled  on   the 
River  Raisin. 

David  Zeisberger  died  at  Schoenbrunn,  No- 
vember 7,  1808,  aged  eighty-seven  years,  seven 
months,  and  six  days.  He  was  horn  in  Moravia, 
April  11,  1721. 


STORY  OF   "SILVER  HEELS."  1G1 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

CONTINUATION  OF   BORDER  HISTORY. 
STORY   OF   "SILVER  HEELS." 

For  many  years  after  the  first  settlement  of 
Ohio,  the  article  of  marine  salt  was  one  of 
primary  importance  in  the  catalogue  of  im- 
portations, as  being  absolutely  necessary  in  the 
domestic  economy  of  civilized  man.  The  sav- 
age never  having  been  accustomed  to  its  use, 
can  live  and  enjoy  very  good  health  'without 
it — never  laying  by  any  great  stores  of  meat, 
but  letting  each  day  provide  for  itself.  If  he 
needed  a  supply  for  a  journey  or  the  short 
interval  of  Summer,  when  hunting  was  poor, 
it  was  easily  preserved  by  the  process  of  "jerk- 
ing," or  drying  over  a  slow  fire,  a  mode  often 
resorted  to  by  the  early  borderers  themselves. 

Not  so  with  the  white  man;   salt  was  to  him 
11 


162     EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

an '  article  of  absolute  necessity,  and  he  was 
obliged  to  transport  it  across  the  Alleghany 
ranges  of  mountains,  on  packhorses,  for  many 
years  after  the  first  settlement  of  the  country, 
at  an  expense  of  six  or  eight  dollars  a  bushel, 
even  as  late  as  the  year  1800.  The  immense 
fountains  of  brine  that  now  are  known  to  exist 
deep  in  the  rocky  beds  below,  and  furnish  an 
endless  source  of  wealth  to  the  country,  were 
then  not  dreamed  of;  and  it  was  supposed  the 
"West  would  always  be  dependent  on  the  At- 
lantic coast  for  salt,  and  deeply  deplored  as  a 
serious  drawback  on  the  value  of  this  beautiful 
region.  Although  many  springs  of  saline  water 
were  known  to  exist  in  various  places,  yet  they 
were  of  so  poor  and  weak  a  quality  as  to  re- 
quire from  four  to  six  hundred  gallons  of  the 
water  to  make  a  bushel  of  salt;  and  when  made 
contained  so  much  foreign  matter  as  to  be  a 
very  inferior  article.  But  as  it  could  be  tised 
in  place  of  foreign  salt,  and  saved  the  border- 
ers money,  at  that  day  not  very  plenty,  it  was 


STORY   OF   "SILVER  HEELS.  163 

occasionally  resorted  to  by  the  first  settlers; 
and  gangs  of  six  or  eight  men  assembled  with 
their  domestic  kettles,  and  packhorses  with 
provisions,  camped  out  in  the  woods  for  a  week 
at  a  time.  These  springs  were  generally  dis- 
covered by  the  hunters,  and  were  often  at  re- 
mote points  from  the  settlements.  One  of  the 
most  noted  in  this  part  of  Ohio  was  on  Salt 
Creek,  near  the  present  village  of  Chandler s- 
ville,  in  Muskingum  county. 

About  the  year  1798,  shortly  after  the  close 
of  the  Indian  war,  a  party  of  men  from  the 
settlement  on  Olive-Green  Creek,  a  large  tribu- 
tary stream  of  the  Muskingum,  thirty  miles 
from  the  saline,  had  assembled  at  this  spot  for 
the  purpose  of  manufacturing  a  little  salt  for 
their  own  use.  While  occupied  at  this  business, 
and  cracking  their  rude  jokes  as  the  water 
slowly  evaporated  from  the  boiling  kettles,  a 
noted  old  Indian  warrior,  well  known  to  the 
borderers  in  early  days  by  the  name  of  "  Silver 
Heels,"  who  was  hunting  near  the  spring,  called 


164     EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

at  their  camp.  During  peace  the  intercourse 
of  the  Indians  with  the  whites  was  free  and 
unrestrained;  nor  was  it  uncommon  for  them 
to  hunt  in  company  with  perfect  confidence  and 
good  fellowship.  At  this  period  the  old  warrior 
*  lived  on  the  Muskingum  River,  a  few  miles 
west  of  the  saline,  at  a  spot  since  well  known 
to  all  boatmen  by  the  name  of  "Silver  Heels 
Ripple."  As  it  was  now  peace  ho  felt  no  fear, 
and  having  drank  very  freely  of  the  whisky 
offered  him  by  the  whites,  and  which  in  those 
days  formed  one  of  the  comforts,  if  not  one  of 
the  necessaries  of  life,  he  began  to  boast  of  his 
exploits,  saying  he  had  taken  the  scalps  of  six- 
teen white  men  during  the  course  of  his  battles. 
Among  others,  he  said  he  had  taken  one  at  the 
mouth  of  Olive-Green  Creek,  near  the  garrison 
at  that  place,  during  the  late  war.  It  was  that 
of  an  old  man,  and  had  two  crowns,  or  spiral 
turns  of  the  hair,  on  the  top  of  the  head.  Of 
this  he  made  two  scalps,  by  carefully  dividing 
it,  and  sold  them  to  the  British  commander  at 


STORY  OF   "SILVER  HEELS."  165 

Detroit  for  fifty  dollars  each.  He  further  re- 
lated that  the  old  man  was  gathering  the  fruit 
of  the  may-apple,  and  had  the  bosom  of  his 
hunting  shirt  full  at  the  time.  His  gun,  which 
he  had  set  against  a  tree,  while  picking  the  fruit, 
he  described  as  a  musket,  with  iron  bands  or 
rings  around  it;  but  fearing  pursuit,  and  it 
being  useless  to  him,  he  had  hidden  it  in  a 
hollow  log  a  few  rods  higher  up  the  bank  of 
the  creek.  The  fact  of  the  old  man's  death 
was  familiar  to  all  present,  as  the  most  of  them 
were  his  companions  in  the  garrison  at  the 
time,  and  were  well  acquainted  with  the  cir- 
cumstances. It  seems  he  was  out  near  the 
garrison,  just  at  evening,  hunting  his  cow,  con^ 
trary  to  the  advice  and  remonstrances  of  the 
other  inmates,  who  were  aware  of  Indians 
being  in  the  vicinity,  and  stated  the  danger 
of  thus  exposing  himself.  But  being  a  head- 
strong as  well  as  a  brave  man,  he  disregarded 
their  fears.  He  had  been  absent  but  a  short 
time  when  the  sharp  crack  of  a  rifle  was  heard. 


166     EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

It  was  known  at  once  for  that  of  an  Indian, 
as  the  gun  of  the  old  man  was  a  musket,  and 
its  report  easily  distinguished  from  that  of  a 
rifle,  especially  by  woodsmen.  The  garrison 
contained  but  three  or  four  men,  but  several 
women  and  children.  And  as  it  was  nearly 
dark,  and  the  force  of  the  Indians  unknown, 
no  search  was  made  for  him  till  the  following 
morning,  when  he  was  found  dead  and  scalped, 
with  his  bosom  filled  with  may-apples,  which 
he  was  busily  engaged  in  gathering  for  his 
children,  at  the  time,  as  stated  by  Silver  Heels. 
It  so  chanced  that  a  son  of  the  old  man,  now 
a  robust  forester,  and  whose  name  was  Sher- 
man, was  present  listening  to  the  Indian's  nar- 
ration. To  satisfy  himself  as  to  the  truth  of 
the  story,  and  of  his  being  the  actual  murderer 
of  his  father,  he  returned  directly  home,  and 
making  diligent  search  on  the  spot  pointed  out 
as  the  place  where  the  gun  was  concealed,  he 
found  under  some  rotten  wood  where  the  tree 
had   lain,   the   barrel,    lock,   and    rings   of  his 


'Logan's  spring."  167 

father's  gun,  then  lying  there  about  eight 
years,  thus  confirmin'g  the  truth  of  the  Indian's 
statement.  A  few  days  after  this,  the  dead 
body  of  the  old  warrior  was  found  in  a  by- 
path in  the  woods,  pierced  by  a  rifle  bullet. 
Thus  ended  the  days  of  "Silver  Heels;"  but 
his  name  will  be  remembered  as  long  as  the 
ripple  shall  remain  in  the  bed  of  the  Mus- 
kingum. 

"  logan's  spring." 

The  following  anecdote  of  Logan,  the  cele- 
brated Mingo  chief,  is  so  characteristic  of  his 
magnanimity  and  genuine  love  of  the  whites, 
that  it  is  well  worth  preserving.  When  not 
goaded  to  madness  by  the  cruelties  of  the 
Americans,  and  under  that  all-absorbing  pas- 
sion, revenge,  he  was  one  of  the  most  mild 
and  kind-hearted  of  men.  That  particular  in- 
jury being  canceled,  benevolence  and  kindly 
feelings,  often  predominant  even  in  the  savage 
heart,  returned  in  full   force,  and   all   former 


1G8     EARLY  HISTORY  ^F  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

injuries  were  forgotten.  Could  a  disciple  of 
Spurzheim  get  possession  of  this  savage  hero's 
skull,  the  organ  of  benevolence,  as  well  as  that 
of  combativeness,  would  be  found  largely  de- 
veloped. In  Ligonier  Valley,  Mifflin  county, 
'Pennsylvania,  on  the  Kishaquoquillas  Creek,  a 
tributary  of  the  Juniata,  about  the  year  1767, 
lived  Mr.  Samuel  Maclay,  a  noted  hunter  and 
surveyor  of  wild  lands.  He  was  a  man  of 
uncommon  activity  and  courage,  and  stood  high 
in  the  estimation  .of  the  early  settlers  of  that 
remote  part  of  the  State.  After  the  war  of  the 
Revolution,  he  was  for  several  years  Speaker 
of  the  Senate  of  Pennsylvania.  Soon  after  the 
capture  of  Fort  Pitt,  and  before  peace  was 
finally  concluded  with  the  Indian  tribes  en- 
gaged on  the  side  of  the  French,  Mr.  Maclay 
was  out  on  a  surveying  excursion  in  Ligonier 
Valley.  One  evening  after  a  fatiguing  day's 
march,  examining  the .  country,  and  fixing  the 
boundaries  of  lots,  he  encamped  in  a  fine  open 
wood,  near  a  large   spring  which  rushed  pure 


"logan's  spring."  169 

and  limpid  from  the  earth,  in  a  hollow  way 
between  two  low  hills.  After  eating  his  sup- 
per of  broiled  venison,  and  drinking  heartily 
from  the  spring,  he  stretched  himself  on  a  fresh 
bed  of  leaves,  with  his  feet  to  the  fire,  and 
slept  very  quietly.  Early  in  the  morning  he 
was  suddenly  awakened  from  his  refreshing 
slumbers,  by  the  low  growl  of  his  faithful  dog, 
who  lay  crouched  by  his  side.  As  he  opened 
his  eyes  in  the  direction  of  the  first  rays  of 
the  morning  light,  the  figure  of  a  large  Indian 
was  seen  in  bold  relief  against  the  clear  sky, 
only  a  few  rods  from  him,  on  the  top  of  the 
low  hill  opposite.  He  was  in  the  act  of  cock- 
ing his  gun,  with  the  barrel  resting  on  his  left 
arm,  and  at  the  same  time  looking  intently  on 
Mr.  Maclay.  Surprised,  but  not  dismayed,  he 
seized  the  rifle  which  lay  by  his  side  and  sprang 
upon  his  feet.  The  Indian  still  stood  in  the 
same  posture,  without  any  attempt  to  tree,  or 
further  motion  of  firing.  They  both  remained 
in  the   same  attitude,  a  few  moments,  closely 


170      EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

eyeing  each  other.  At  length  the  Indian  slowly 
opened  the  pan  of  his  rifle  and  threw  out  the 
powder  —  Maclay  did  the  same  —  and  laying 
down  his  gun,  approached  the  Indian  with  out- 
stretched hand  in  token  of  peace.  The  warrior 
also  made  the  same  movement,  and  all  enmity 
disappeared  immediately.  This  Indian  was  the 
celebrated  Logan,  afterward  so  cruelly  treated 
by  white  men.  The  spring  near  which  this  in- 
cident occurred  is  still  called  "Logan's  Spring." 
They  remained  for  many  years  after,  and  till 
the  encroachments  of  civilization  drove  the  In- 
dians far  west,  warm  and  devoted  friends.  The 
descendants  of  Mr.  Maclay,  from  one  of  whom 
I  received  the  anecdote,  still  venerate  the  name 
of  Logan. 

FIRST   SETTLEMENT   AT   MARIETTA. 

In  the  Spring  of  the  year  1836  I  was  in 
Marietta  on  the  7th  of  April,  a  day  hallowed 
as  the  one  on  which  a  little  band  of  adventur- 
ers, the   advance   guard  of  the  present  great 


FIRST   SETTLEMENT  AT  MARIETTA.         171 

State  of  Ohio,  and  consisting  of  only  forty- 
seven  persons,  landed  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Muskingum.  This  little  band  was  led  by  Gen- 
eral Rufus  Putnam,  one  of  the  directors  of 
"the  Ohio  Company,"  and  subsequently  Sur- 
veyor-General to  the  United  States.  He  was 
the  intimate  and  highly-esteemed  friend  of  the 
great  Washington.  Under  his  direction  a  strong 
stockaded  garrison  was  built  on  the  brow  of 
the  elevated  plain,  about  half  a  mile  above  the 
mouth  of  the  Muskingum,  and  called  "  Campus 
Martius."  Within  the  walls  of  this  citadel, 
two  or  three  hundred  of  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren lived  during  the  Indian  war  which  broke 
out  in  1790.  This  (Jay  was  for  many  years 
after  scrupulously  celebrated  by  all  the  inhabit- 
ants, with  games  at  foot-racing,  wrestling,  and 
cricket  ball  by  day,  and  a  hearty  round  of 
dancing  in  the  evening,  at  which  the  vigorous 
and  active  limbs  of  the  young  females  found  a 
fascinating  and  healthy  amusement.  The  Gov- 
ernor of  the  North- West  Territory,  of  which 


172     EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

this  was  for  a  short  time  the  capital,  and  the 
commander  of  the  troops  stationed  in  Fort  Har- 
mar,  honored  and  encouraged  them  by  their 
presence.  In  imitation  of  the  ancient  Greeks, 
these  athletic  amusements  were  greatly  encour- 
aged at  that  day,  for  the  purpose  of  inuring  the 
limbs  of  the  youth  to  violent  exercises,  that 
they  might  be  the  better  enabled  to  contend 
with  the  supple  and  active  frames  of  the  sav- 
ages, if  ever  called  into  personal  contact,  as 
they  were  daily  liable  to  be. 

For  four  years  the  inhabitants  of  Marietta 
and  Belpre  lived  within  the  walls  of  their 
garrisons,  in  a  condition  very  similar  to  those 
of  a  besieged  city;  and,  although  not  closely 
invested  by  an  Indian  army,  no  one  could  leave 
the  walls  of  the  fort  without  hazard  from  the 
rifle  or  tomahawk  of  an  Indian.  They  were 
continually  lurking  around  and  watching  for 
the  unwary  white  man,  several  of  whom  fell 
victims  to  their  temerity  in  venturing  too  far 
from    the    defenses. '   The    garrisons    were    so 


FIRST   SETTLEMENT   AT  MARIETTA.         173 

strongly  built,  and   so    carefully   defended   by 
brave    and    experienced   men,   many   of  whom 
had  served  through  the  war  of  the  Revolution, 
that  the  Indians  never  made  a  formal  attack. 
By   constant  familiarity  with   danger,  we   lose 
much  of  our  fear  for  its  consequences.     The 
men  became  more  careless  in  exposing  them- 
selves at  work  in  their  fields,  and  were  sometimes 
shot  at;  although  one  was  generally  placed  as 
a  sentry  on   the   top  of  a  high  stump   in   the 
center  of  the  field.     Even  the  young  women 
caught  the  same  spirit  of  fearlessness,  and,  tired 
with    the    monotony    of  a   garrison    life,  were 
pleased  with  almost  any  change;    so  much  so 
that  from  their  own  lips  I  have  had  narrated 
to  me  the  high  spirits  and  delight  which  they 
felt  in  hearing  the  drums  beat,  and  the  alarm 
gun  fired,  as  the  signal  that  the  Indians  were 
in  the   vicinity,  and  there  was   put  in  motion 
all  the  hurry  and  bustle  of  an  actual  attack. 
Seeing  no  immediate  danger,  nor  any  signs  of 
fear  in   those   around   them,  they  happily  felt 


174     EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH- WEST. 

none  themselves;  and  enjoyed  the  stirring  scene 
with  far  more  zest  than  the  females  of  modern 
days  enjoy  a  military  parade. 

This  day,  so  long  honored  and  kept  in  remem- 
brance by  our  predecessors,  had  for  a  number 
of  years  been  neglected;  but  thanks  to  the 
impulse  given  at  Cincinnati  in  1835,  by  a  few 
patriotic  and  high-minded  men,  it  has  again 
revived.  The  assembly  on  this  occasion  at 
Marietta  was  numerous,  and  the  large  Congre- 
gational church  filled  to  overflowing  to  witness 
the  ceremonies.  Two  hundred  of  this  number 
were  made  up  from  the  youth  of  the  college 
and  the  young  ladies'  academy,  which  have 
sprung  up  in  this  place,  and  the  inmates  of 
which  were  all  born  many  years  since  the  yell 
of  the  savage  was  last  heard  on  the  shores  of 
the  Muskingum.  Among  the  actors  of  the  day, 
I  noticed  several  of  the  pioneers  and  hardy 
borderers  of  1788,  whose  venerable,  but  yet 
robust  frames  still  remained  as  living  speci- 
mens of  "the  days  which  tried  men's  souls," 


FIRST   SETTLEMENT  AT   MARIETTA.         175 

as  well  as  their  courage.  Some  of  these  men 
*had  been  living  on  the  Ohio  River  for  several 
years  before  that  time,  especially  Peter  Ander- 
son and  John  Burroughs,  who  acted  as  rangers, 
or  "spies"  for  the  Ohio  Company  during  the 
war  from  1790  to  1795. 

One  of  the  most  dangerous  and  fatiguing  em- 
ployments ever  consigned  to  man,  was  that  of 
traversing  the  wilderness,  singly  or  in  pairs, 
in  search  of  North  American  Indians.  The 
life  of  the  ranger  was  in  continual  jeopardy 
from  the  ambush  of  the  savage;  and  every  tree 
presented  a  point  from  behind  which  his  enemy 
could  unseen  hurl  upon  him  wounds  and  death. 
And  yet  there  were  many  men  who  loved  the 
occupation  merely  because  it  was  dangerous. 
A  service  devoid  of  hazard  was  in  their  estima- 
tion without  interest,  and  only  fit  for  women 
and  cowards.  Of  these  men  a  very  few  only 
are  left.  The  robust  and  still  erect  frame  of 
Peter  Anderson,  now  seventy-eight  years  old, 
clad  in  a  calico  Indian  hunting  shirt,  the  com- 


176      EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

mon  dress  of  the  rangers,  was  there;  a  noble 
specimen  of  what  man  has  been,  and  perhaps* 
may  be  again  when  the  same  causes  shall  call 
them  into  existence. 

To  the  courage  and  activity  of  "the  spies," 
a  frontier  name  for  rangers,  the  early  colonists 
at  Marietta,  Belpre,  and  Belleville,  were  greatly 
indebted  for  their  safety.  Their  daily  excur- 
sions to  the  distance  of  twenty  and  thirty  miles 
through  the  wilderness,  gave  the  inhabitants 
notice  of  the  approach  of  the  Indians  in  time 
to  prepare  for  an  attack.  During  this  service 
several  Indians, were  killed,  and  a  few  of  the 
rangers  lost  their  lives.  Of  those  who  first 
landed  here  on  the  7th  of  April,  although  two 
or  three  hundred  came  on  in  the  course  of  the 
year,  four  individuals  only  were  present.  Their 
gray  locks  and  attenuated  frames  bore  solemn 
proofs  of  the  work  of  time.  When  we  look  at 
the  vast  improvements,  and  the  multitudes  that 
now  people  the  places  which  were  then  covered 
by  dense  forests,  we  wonder  that  any  of  those 


FIRST   SETTLEMENT   Al    MARIETTA.    '     177 

who  flourished  in  that  day  should  still  be  living 
at  this. 

Arius  Nye,  Esq.,  whose  father  is  yet  living, 
and  was  among  the  early  adventurers,  delivered 
a  very  animated  and  eloquent  address,  detailing 
the  early  history  of  the  Ohio  Company  and 
their  progress  at  this  place,  disclosing  many 
facts  not  generally  known,  and  which  will  form 
an  interesting  chapter  in  the  history  of  Mari- 
etta, that  he  is  preparing  for  publication.  The 
ceremonies  of  the  day  being  finished,  the  com- 
pany partook  of  a  substantial  dinner  in  the 
large  hall  of  I.  Lewis;  the  walls  of  which  were 
decorated  with  two  fine  oil  paintings,  of  old 
F(jrt  Harmar,  and  Campus  Martius.  Among 
the  numerous  sentiments  given  was  one  sent 
in  by  Francis  Devol,  who  was  prevented  by 
sickness  from  being  present.  His  father,  Cap- 
tain Jonathan  Devol,  was  one  of  the  forty-seven 
who  first  landed  here  on  the  7th  of  April,  and 
his   mother,  with  several   other  heroic  women, 

came    on   with    their   families    in    the   Autumn 
12 


178     EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

following,  and  were  here  during  all  the  Indian 
war.  His  parents  have  been  dead  several  years, 
as  are  nearly  all  the  matrons  of  that  early  day. 
The  sentiment  given  was  a  brief  one,  but  em- 
braced thoughts  and  materials  for  volumes.  It 
was  simply,  " our  mothers;'"  and  I  am  happy  to 
say  was  received  with  that  deep  feeling  which 
the  subject  merited.  Dr.  Hildreth,  when  called 
upon,  gave  "  the  memory  of  Isaac  Williams," 
accompanied  with  the  following  brief  sketch  of 
the  biography  of  this  noble  old  pioneer,  and 
some  historical  incidents  illustrating,  the  times 
in  which  he  lived. 


ISAAC   WILLIAMS.  179 


CHAPTER   IX. 

PIONEER    BIOGRAPHY. 
ISAAC    WILLIAMS. 

At  this  interesting  festival,  hallowed  as  the 
day  on  which  our  forefathers  first  landed  on 
these  shores,  and  endeared  to  their  descend- 
ants by  many  touching  recollections,  we  can 
not  do  better  in  honoring  it  than  by  calling  up 
the  names  and  recounting  some  of  the  scenes 
of  that  far-distant  period. 

On  the  canvas  which  decorates  that  wall  I 
see  shadowed  forth  by  the  hand  of  the  artist 
the  humble  dwelling  and  the  early  "clearing" 
of  one  who,  although  not  forming  a  portion  of 
the  enterprising  company  that  landed  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Muskingum,  and  whose  trials  and 
whose  firmness  have  been  so  ably  delineated  by 
the  eloquent  address  of  the  orator  of  the  day, 


180      EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

was  yet  here  in  the  wilderness  before  them, 
ready  to  endure  privations  and  to  brave  dan- 
ger. That  little  spot,  Mr.  President,  was  the 
"clearing"*  of  Isaac  Williams,  made  nearly 
two  years  before  the  landing  of  the  company, 
and  only  a  few  months  after  the  building  of 
Fort  Harmar,  in  the  Autumn  of  1786.  This 
painting,  copied  from  a  drawing  made  by  the 
Hon.  Joseph  Gillman  in  the  year  1790,  gives 
an  accurate  view  of  old  Fort  Harmar  and  the 
surrounding  scenery  as  it  appeared  at  that 
early  day. 

Mr.  Williams  took  possession  of  his  forest 
domain  the  26th  of  March,  1787.  It  is  the 
memory  of  this  man  which  I  rise  to  pledge, 
and  some  few  of  whose  good  deeds  and  daring 
adventures  I  desire  to  commemorate. 

So  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  ascertain,  Isaac 
Williams  was  born  in  the  principality  of  Wales, 
not  far  from  the  year  1736.    He  immigrated  to 

*  The  "  clearing "  was  opposite  the  mouth  of  Muskingum 
River,  in  Virginia,  and  formed  a  part  of  the  painting. 


ISAAC   WILLIAMS.  181 

America  when  quite  young,  as  he  was  known 
to  some  of  the  family  of  Mr.  Joseph  Tomlin- 
son,  many  years  before  they  settled  in  Western 
Virginia,  by  the  name  of  "the  Welsh  boy." 
He  lost  his  father  soon  after,  when  his  mother 
married  a  Mr.  Buckley,  and  moved  west  of  the 
mountains. 

Mr.  Williams  was  among  the  earliest  adven- 
turers from  the  Shenandoah  River  to  the  waters 
of  the  Monongahela;  and  becoming  acquainted 
with  Rebecca,  the  daughter  of  Mr.  Joseph  Tom- 
linson,  was  married  to  her  about  the  year  1767. 
In  this  noble-minded  woman  he  found  a  spirit 
congenial  to  his  own — a  stranger  to  fear,  and 
yet  full  of  kind  and  benevolent  feelings.  For 
several  years  she  had  been  the  housekeeper 
of  her  two  brothers,  surrounded  by  dangers  on 
the  frontier  settlements  amid  the  Indians,  and 
often,  when  they  were  absent  on  war  and  hunt- 
ing parties,  for  many  days  entirely  alone.  By 
this  marriage  they  had  only  one  child,  a  daugh- 
ter- who  was  born  January  29, 1788,  two  months 


182     EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTiI-WEST. 

before  the  arrival  of  the  Ohio  Company.  This 
was  probably  the  first  white  child  born  on  the 
banks  of  the  Ohio,  between  Grave  Creek  and 
the  mouth  of  Big  Sandy  River,  and  may  em- 
phatically be  called  the  child  of  his  old  age,  as 
he  was  then  fifty-two  years  old,  and  had  been 
married  about  twenty  years.  Drusilla,  the  only 
hope  of  her  aged  parents,  married  Mr.  John 
Henderson,  and  died  young,  leaving  no  issue  to 
bear  up  the  family  name. 

In  person  Mr.  Williams  was  of  the  medium 
size,  with  an  upright  frame,  and  robust,  mus- 
cular limbs ;  his  features  firm  and  strongly 
marked,  with  a  taciturn  and  quiet  manner.  In 
his  habits  he  was  remarkably  abstemious  and 
temperate.  Instead  of  the  more  common  and 
fashionable  beverage  of  tea  and  coffee,  he  used 
altogether  milk  or  water  at  his  meals.  To  such 
simple  palates  stimulating  drinks  have  no  en- 
ticements; so  that  temperance  with  them  is  a 
native,  inborn  virtue.  These  primitive  habits 
account  for  his  almost  uniform  good  health  and 


STORY  OF  JOHN   WETZEL.  183 

great  age.  From  early  youth  he  was  much 
attached  to  hunting,  and  to  distant  and  solitary 
rambles  in  the  deep  forests  of  the  West — pur- 
suing the  chase  of  the  buffalo  and  the  bear, 
and  trapping  the  sagacious  beaver.  In  these 
excursions,  and  in  making  locations  of  "  rights," 
as  the  early  land  entries  of  Virginia  were  then 
called,  and  which  extended  to  both  banks  of  the 
Ohio,  many  of  the  most  active  years  of  his  life 
were  passed. 

In  the  Fall  of  the  year  1780  or  '81— my 
informant,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Tomlinson,  now  a 
very  aged  woman,  but  who  then  lived  in  that 
vicinity,  is  not  certain  which  —  Mr.  Williams 
was  engaged  in  the  following  adventure  at  the 
mouth  of  Grave  Creek. 

STORY   OF   JOHN  WETZEL. 

John  Wetzel,  a  younger  brother  of  Lewis, 
the  celebrated  ranger  and  Indian  hunter,  then 
about  sixteen  years  old,  with  a  neighboring 
boy  of  about  the  same  age,  were  in  search  of 


184     EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

horses  that  had  strayed  away  in  the  woods  on 
Wheeling  Creek,  where  the  parents  of  John 
then  lived.  One  of  the  stray  animals  was  a 
mare  with  a  young  foal,  belonging  to  John's 
sister,  which  she  promised  to  give  to  John  as 
a  reward  for  finding  the  mare.  While  on  this 
service  they  were  captured  by  a  party  of  three 
Indians,  who,  having  accidentally  found  the 
horses,  caught  them  and  placed  them  in  a 
thicket,  expecting  that  their  bells  would  attract 
the  notice  of  their  owners,  and  they  should 
then  easily  capture  them,  as  well  as  the  horses, 
or  take  their  scalps.  The  horse  was  always  a 
favorite  object  with  the  savage,  as  not  only 
facilitating  his  own  escape  from  pursuit,  but 
also  assisting  him  in  carrying  off  the  plunder. 

The  boys,  hearing  the  well-known  tinkle  of 
the  bells,  approached  the  spot  where  the  In- 
dians lay  concealed,  congratulating  themselves 
on  their  good  luck  in  so  readily  finding  the 
strays,  and  were  immediately  seized  by  the 
Indians.     John,  in  attempting  to   escape,  was 


STORY   OF   JOHN  WETZEL.  185 

shot  through  the  arm.  On  their  march  to  the 
Ohio  his  companion  made  so  much  lamentation 
and  moaning  on  account  of  his  captivity,  that 
the  Indians  dispatched  him  with  their  toma- 
hawks; while  John,  who  had  once  before  been 
taken  prisoner  and  escaped,  made  light  of  it, 
pjid  went  along  cheerfully  with  his  wounded 
arm.  The  party  struck  the  Ohio  River  early 
the  following  morning  at  a  point  near  the 
mouth  of  Grave  Creek,  and  just  below  the 
clearing  of  Mr.  Tomlinson. 

Here  they  found  some  fat  hogs,  and  killing 
two  put  them  into  a  canoe  they  had  stolen — 
two  Indians  taking  possession  of  the  canoe 
with  their  prisoner,  while  the  other  Indian 
was  occupied  in  swimming  the  horses  across 
the  river.  While  amusing  themselves  at  the 
squealing  of  some  young  pigs,  and  talking  and 
laughing  very  loud,  they  were  overheard  by 
Isaac  Williams  and  Hamilton  Kerr,  who  had 
passed  the  night  at  Mr.  Tomlinson's,  and  were 
then    on    the    look-out    for    signs    of    Indians. 


186     EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

Kerr  first  hearing  the  noise  ran  ahead,  and 
coming  nearly  opposite  the  canoe  at  once  dis- 
covered the  cause,  and  without  a  moment's 
delay  discharged  his  rifle  at  the  Indian  who 
was  steering  it  with  such  fatal  effect  that  he 
fell  dead  into  the  river.  Mr.  Williams  came 
up  immediately  after  and  shot  the  other  In- 
dian, who  fell  into  the  bottom  of  the  canoe. 

By  this  time  Kerr  had  again  loaded  his  rifle, 
and  was  drawing  up  to  shoot  John,  who  he 
supposed  was  also  an  Indian,  when  he  cried 
out,  "  Do  n't  shoot ;  I  am  a  prisoner."  He 
was  then  told  to  paddle  the  canoe  to  shore, 
to  which  he  answered,  "My  right  arm  is  shot 
through  the  elbow,  and  is  useless."  The  canoe, 
however,  soon  drifted  into  shoal  water,  when 
John  jumped  out  and  waded  to  the  shore.  The 
boat  floated  on  undisturbed,  and  was  finally 
taken  up  near  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio,  with  the 
two  dead  hogs  still  in  it.  The  Indian  who  feH 
into  the  water  was  taken  out  just  below  and 
scalped. 


BIOGRAPHY   CONTINUED.  187 


BIOGRAPHY   CONTINUED. 

This  is  a  single  sample  of  the  many  similar 
adventures  in  which  Mr.  Williams  was  for  sev- 
eral years  engaged.  He  seldom  spoke  of  his 
own  exploits,  and  when  related  they  generally 
came  from  the  lips  of  his  companions.  There 
was  only  one  situation  in  which  he  could  be 
induced  to  relax  his  natural  reserve,  and  freely 
narrate  the  romantic  and  hazardous  adventures 
which  had  befallen  him  in  his  hunting  and  war 
excursions  in  all  parts  of  the  Western  wilder- 
ness, and  that  was  when  encamped  by  the 
evening  fire  in  some  remote  spot,  after  the 
toils  of  the  day  were  closed,  and  the  supper 
of  venison  and  bear's  meat  finished.  Here, 
while  reclining  on  a  bed  of  fresh-fallen  leaves 
beneath  the  lofty  branches  of  the  forest,  his 
body  and  mind  felt  a  freedom  that  the  "hut" 
and  the  "  clearing "  could  not  give ;  but  sur- 
rounded by  the  works  of  God,  with  no  listener 
save  the  stars  an,d  his  companion,  the  spirit  of 


188      EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

narration  came  upon  him,  and  for  hours  he 
would  rehearse  the  most  thrilling  and  heart- 
moving  details  of  his  youthful  and  early  adven- 
tures by  forest,  flood,  and  field.  In  this  manner 
the  late  Mr.  Alexander  Henderson,  whose  worth 
and  whose  kind  and  gentlemanly  manners  were 
well  known  to  most  of  us,  informed  me  he  had 
passed  with  Mr.  Williams  some  of  the  most 
interesting  hours  of  his  life,  while  hunting  on 
the  heads  of  the  Little  Kanawha.  His  romantic 
and  chivalrous  spirit  could  well  appreciate  the 
value  of  such  daring  deeds. 

With  the  foresight  of  a  reflecting  mind,  Mr. 
Williams  had  taken  possession  of  a  large  tract 
of  land  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Ohio,  opposite 
the  mouth  of  the  Muskingum;  had  erected 
cabins;  made  a  clearing;  and  was  living  on  it 
with  his  family,  as  I  have  already  said,  at  the 
time  the  Ohio  Company  took  possession  at 
Marietta. 

Among  his  many  kind  -and  neighborly  acts 
to  the  first  settlers  and  pioneers  of  Ohio,  those 


FAMINE   AMONG  THE   COLONISTS.  189 

of  the  year  1790  display  his  benevolence  and 
single-heartedness  in  the  most  pleasing  light. 
From  the  destructive  effects  of  an  untimely 
frost  in  September  of  the  year  1789,  the  crops 
of  corn  were  greatly  injured,  and  where  late 
planted  entirely  ruined. 

FAMINE   AMONG  THE   COLONISTS. 

In  the  Spring  and  Summer  of  1790  the  in- 
habitants, whose  time  had  been  chiefly  occu- 
pied in  erecting  dwellings  and  stockaded  garri- 
sons, and  of  course  had  cleared  but  little  land, 
began  to  suffer  from  the  want  of  food,  especially 
wholesome  breadstuff.  The  Indians  were  be- 
coming troublesome,  and  rendered  it  hazardous 
boating  provisions  from  the  older  settlements 
on  the  Monongahela.  Many  families  had  no 
other  meal  than  that  made  from  moldy  corn, 
and  were  sometimes  destitute  even  of  this,  for 
several  days  in  succession.  This  moldy  corn 
was  sold  at  a  dollar  per  bushtl,  and  when 
ground   on    their    hand   mills    and    made    into 


190      EARLY  niSTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

bread  few  stomachs  were  able  to  digest,  or 
•even  to  retain  it  for  a  few  minutes.  My 
esteemed  friend,  C.  Devol,  Esq.,  who  is  now 
seated  at  this  festive  board,  and  who  was  then 
a  small  boy,  has  often  narrated  with  much 
feeling  his  gastronomic  trials  with  this  moldy 
meal,  made  into  a  dish  called  "sap-porridge;" 
but  which,  when  made  with  sweet  corn-meal 
and  the  fresh  saccharine  juice  of  the  maple, 
afforded  both  a  nourishing  and  a  savory  dish. 
The  family,  then  living  at  Belpre,  had  been 
without  bread  for  two  days,  when  his  father 
returned  from  Marietta  with  a  scanty  supply 
of  moldy  corn.  The  hand  mill  of  "Farmers' 
Castle,"  the  name  of  the  garrison,  was  imme- 
diately put  in  operation,  and  the  meal  cooked 
into  "sap-porridge,"  as  it  was  then  the  sea- 
son of  sugar-making.  The  famished  children 
eagerly  swallowed  the  unsavory  mess,  which 
was  almost  as  immediately  rejected — reminding 
us  of  the  deadly  pottage  of  the  children  of  the 
prophet,  but  lacking  the  healing  power  of  an 


FAMINE  AMONG  THE   COLONISTS.  191 

Elisha  to  render  it  salutary  and  nutritious.  Dis- 
appointed of  expected  relief,  the  poor  children 
went  supperless  to  bed,  to  dream  of  savory 
food  and  plenteous  meals,  unrealized  by  their 
waking  hours. 

It  was  during  this  period  of  want  that  Mr. 
Williams  displayed  his  benevolent  feelings  for 
the  suffering  colonists.  From  the  circumstance 
of  his  being  in  the  country  earlier  he  had  more 
ground  cleared,  and  had  raised  a  large  crop  of 
corn.  This  he  now  distributed  among  the  in- 
habitants for  three  shillings  a  bushel,  when  at 
the  same  time  he  was  offered  a  dollar  by  a 
speculator  for  his  whole  crop.  Man  has  ever 
fattened  on  the  distresses  of  his  fellows.  "Dod- 
rot  him!"  said  the  old  hunter;  "I  would  not 
let  him  have  a  bushel."*  He  not  only  parted 
with  his  corn  at  this  cheap  rate,  but  he  also 

•  This  was  a  mode  of  expression  used  by  Mr.  Williams  when 
his  feelings  were  much  excited.  He*  had  the  greatest  abhor- 
rence of  profanity;  and  I  recollect  distinctly  of  once  hearing 
him  reprove  with  great  severity  a  boatman  who  was  "guilty 
of  this  unmanly  vice. 


192     EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

prudently  proportioned  the  number  of  bushels 
according  io  the  number  of  individuals  in  a 
family.  An  empty  purse  was  no  bar  to  the 
needy  applicant,  but  his  wants  were  equally 
supplied  with  those  who  had  money,  and  a 
credit  given  till  more  favorable  times  should 
enable  him  to  discharge  the  debt. 

During  this  season  of  privation,  I  have  heard 
some  of  our  present  inhabitants,  who  were  then 
children,  relate  with  what  anxiety,  from  day  to 
day,  they  watched  the  tardy  growth  of  the  corn, 
beans,  and  squashes,  and  with  what  rapture 
they  partook  of  the  first  dish  prepared  from 
vegetables  of  their  own  raising!  Disinterested 
benevolence,  such  as  we  have  been  admiring  in 
Mr.  Williams,  is  confined  to  no  country,  nor  to 
any  age,  but  flourishes  with  the  greatest  vigor 
in  the  hut  of  the  forester,  and  amidst  the  in- 
habitants of  an  exposed  frontier.  Common- 
danger  creates  community  of  feeling  and  of 
interest;  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  our  fore- 
fathers, could  they  again  speak,  would  say  that 


SIMPLE   HABITS.  193 

the  years  passed  by  them  in  garrison,  sur- 
rounded by  danger  and  privation,  were  some 
of  the  most  interesting,  if  not  the  most  happy, 
of  their  lives. 

SIMPLE   HABITS. 

But  to  return  to  the  object  of  these  remarks. 
Mr.  Williams  retained"  a  relish  for  hunting  to 
his  latest  days;  and  whenever  a  little  unwell, 
forsaking  his  comfortable  home,  would  take  his 
rifle  and  dog,  retire  to  the  woods,  and  encamp- 
ing by  some  clear  stream,  remain  there  drink- 
ing the  pure  water,  and  eating  such  food  as 
his  rifle  procured,  till  his  health  was  restored. 
Medicine  he  never  took,  except  such  simples 
as  the  forest  afforded.  The  untrod  wilderness 
was  for  him  full  of  charms,  and  before  the  close 
of  the  Revolutionary  war  he  had  hunted  over 
all  parts  of  the  Valley  of  the  Ohio  as  low 
down  as  the  Mississippi.  Respected  by  all 
for  his  benevolence  and  simplicity  of  manners, 

the  days  of  Mr.  Williams  passed  silently  along 
13 


194     EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

in  the  cultivation  and  improvement  of  the  plant- 
ation his  own  prowess  had  rescued  from  the 
wilderness.  During  the  Indian  war  from  1790 
to  1795  he  remained  unmolested  in  his  cabin, 
protected  in  some  measure  from  attack  by  the 
Ohio  River  and  the  proximity  of  Fort  Harmar. 
Many  years  before  his  death  he  liberated  all 
his  slaves,  and  by  his  will  left  valuable  tokens 
of  his  love  and  good  feeling  for  the  oppressed 
and  despised  #African.  Full  of  years  and  of 
good  deeds,  and  strong  in  the  faith  of  a  blessed 
immortality  through  the  atoning  blood  of  his 
Redeemer,  he  resigned  his  spirit  to  Him  who 
gave  it  on  the  25th  of  September,  1820,  aged 
eighty -four  years;  and  was  buried  in  a  beau- 
tiful grove  on  his  own  plantation,  surrounded 
by  the  trees  he  so  dearly  loved  when  living. 

HAMILTON    KERR. 

Hamilton  Kerr,  the  man  referred  to  in  the 
preceding  sketch  of  Isaac  Williams,  was  an- 
other   of    those    stout-hearted    and    iron-sided 


HAMILTON    KERR.  195 

men  who  seem  to  have  been  providentially 
raised  up  to  meet  the  exigencies  of  the  time 
in  which  they  lived.  It  is  doubtless  one  of 
the  laws  of  nature  that  all  its  productions  shall 
be  fitted  to  the  climate  and  soil  in  which  they 
are  placed.  The  law  holds  equally  good  when 
applied  to  man.  In  times  of  violence,  tumult, 
and  strife,  the  mind  and  body  of  man  are  so 
constituted  as  to  be  readily  accommodated  to 
the  emergency  which  requires  their  service.  In 
peaceable  and  quiet  seasons  the  passions  are 
lulled  into  repose,  and  we  dream  not  that  such 
stern  hearts  can  be  found  who  can  look  on 
bloodshed  and  slaughter  with  composure;  yet 
such  has  ever  been  the  condition  of  poor  human 
nature.  It  is  the  animal  triumphing  over  the 
rational ;  the  fiendish  portion  of  our  being  over- 
coming the  spiritual  and  the  angelic.  Without 
the  holy  and  purifying  precepts  of  Christianity, 
subduing  and  suppressing  the  animal  propens- 
ities, man  would  ever  remain  a  degraded  and 
brutish  being;  with  the  aid  of  this  Divine  gift 


\ 


L96      EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

he  can  be  taught  to  overcome  his  most  violent 
passions,  and  to  love  and  do  good  to  those  who 
have  heaped  upon  him  the  greatest  injuries. 
Even  in  his  savage  state,  kind  and  benevolent 
feelings  toward  an  enemy  are  sometimes  seen; 
so  that  the  Creator  did  not  leave  man  without 
some  redeeming  qualities,  although  they  have 
been  strangely  perverted. 

Hamilton  Kerr  was  the  intimate  friend  of 
Isaac  Williams ;  and,  although  many  years 
younger,  there  was  not  only  that  sympathy 
of  feeling  ■which  a  similar  occupation  produces, 
but  also  that  mutual  regard  which  generous 
and  brave  men  ever  entertain  for  each  other. 
For  days  and  months  they  had  traversed  the 
wilderness  together,  pursuing  the  chase  of  the 
bear,  the  buffalo,  and  the  deer,  and  side  by  side 
had  fought  the  common  enemy  of  the  country. 
He  was  a  tall,  athletic  man,  possessed  of  great 
muscular  power,  and  one  of  those  brave  pioneers 
who  acted  as  rangers  for  the  garrisons  at  Ma- 
rietta and  Belpre  jduring  the  Indian  war ;  a  man 


HAMILTON    KERR.  197 

•whose  heart  never  knew  fear,  and  would  have 
borne  the  torture  by  fire  at  the  stake  with  the 
same  uncomplaining  fortitude  and  contempt  of 
pain  as  the  savage  himself.  From  a  similarity 
of  pursuits,  and  by  frequent  intercourse  in  times 
of  peace,  many  of  the  Western  borderers  had 
insensibly  imbibed  a  large  share  of  that  stoical 
philosophy  so  peculiar  to  the  savages  of  North 
America.  But  fortunately  Mr.  Kerr  was  not 
put  to  the  test,  although  often  in  danger  from 
the  rifles  of  his  enemies.  Several  Indians  were 
known  to  have  fallen  by  his  hands  in  -the,  vicinity 
of  the  garrisons. 

After  the  close  of  the  war  he  settled  on  a 
farm  in  Meigs  county,  Ohio,  near  the  mouth 
of  a  creek  which  still  bears  his  name,  and  is 
well  known  to  all  who  navigate  the  Ohio  as 
"  Kerr's  Run."  Although  he  had  no  advantages 
of  education,  yet,  like  many  of  the  sons  of  the 
forest,  he  possessed  superior  intellectual  powers. 
He  stood  high  in  the  estimation  of  the  public, 
and  for  many  years  held  the  office  of  a  magis- 


198     EARLY  HISTORY  OP  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

trate,  bestowed  upon  him  by  the  free  suffrages 
of  his  neighbors,  as  a  mark  of  their  confidence 
in  his  integrity  and  talents.  He  died  a  few 
years  since,  greatly  lamented  as  one  of  the 
early  friends  and  protectors  of  the  infant  West. 


LEGEND   OF   "  CARPENTER'S   BAR.3'  199 


CHAPTER   X. 

LEGENDS  OF  BORDER  HISTORY. 
LEGEND   OF    "  CARPENTER'S   BAR." 

Six  miles  above  Marietta,  at  a  broad  expan- 
sion in  the  Ohio  River,  is  the  location  of 
"Carpenter's  Bar,"  a  spot  much  dreaded  by 
all  steamboat  pilots  in  low  stages  of  the  water. 
It  took  its  name  from  a  tragical  event  which 
occurred  in  the  early  settlement  of  the  country, 
near  the  mouth  of  a  small  stream,  which  puts 
into  the  Ohio  opposite  the  bar.  This  stream  is 
called  "  Carpenter's  Run."  The  inhabitants  of 
Marietta  having  migrated  from  a  distant  part 
of  the  United  States,  were  not  in  a  condition 
to  bring  many  domestic  animals  with  them, 
and  those  they  did  bring  were  generally  stolen 
from  them,  or  shot  down  in  the  woods  by  the 
Indians.     This   state  of  destitution  for  several 


200     EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

years  after  the  settlement  in  1788,  opened  a 
favorable  market  for  cattle  to  the  older  settle- 
ments on  the  western  branch  of  the  Mononga- 
hela  River,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  present  town 
of  Clarksburg,  Virginia. 

In  this  region,  especially  on  "the  Elk,"  and 
"the  West  Fork,"  settlements  had  been  made 
as  early  as  the  year  1772;  and  many  large 
farms  were  opened,  and  numerous  herds  of 
cattle  grown  in  the  rich  hills  of  that  country, 
which  has  ever  been  famous  for  its  fine  grazing 
lands.  It  is  distant  about  eighty  miles  in 
nearly  a  due  east  direction  from  the  mouth  of 
the  Muskingum.  .  Several  droves  had  been  sent 
in  as  early  as  the  year  1790.  Among  others 
engaged  in  this  business  was  Nicholas  Carpen- 
ter, a  native  of  Lancaster  county,  Pennsylvania, 
who  had  been  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  tins 
remote  region.  He  was  a  man  of  great  energy 
and  activity,  and  took  the  lead  in  all  business 
transactions ;  having  not  only  a  large  farm, 
with   eighty  or   one   hundred   acres   of  cleared 


LEGEND  OF   "  CARPENTERS  BAR."         201 

land,  with  a  fine  orchard,  but  a  small  store  of 
dry  goods.  He  carried  on  a  smithery,  and  gun 
making,  at  which  he  worked  himself;  an,d  also 
employed  a  hatter,  shoemaker,  and  clothier,  all 
on  his  own  premises.  For  so  remote  a  spot, 
and  so  early  a  day,  Mr.  Carpenter  may  well 
be  considered  a  man  of  much  importance  to 
the  society  among  which  he  dwelt.  He  was 
not  only  a  business  man,  but  also  a  pious  man — 
commencing  and  closing  the  labors  of  each  day 
by  prayer  and  praise  to  his  Maker  for  the  fa- 
vors he  received  in  this  world,  and  the  cheering 
hope  of  immortality  promised  him  in  the  Grospel 
among  the  blessed  in  the  next. 

At  the  period  of  the  event  which  I  am  about 
to  relate,  he  was  the  father  of  eleven  children, 
all  by  one  mother.  In  those  days  such  families 
were  not  uncommon.  Every  thing  was  in  its 
prime.  The  virgin  soil  brought  forth  by  hund- 
red-fold; and  mankind  multiplied  the  more  rap- 
idly, not  only  from  their  simple  food  and  active 
lives,  but  also  from  the  continual  dangers  that 


202      EAELY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

surrounded  them.  As  a  sample  of  the  fecundity 
of  the  climate,  there  were  living  about  twenty- 
eight  years  ago — soon  after  the  period  of  my 
settling  on  the  Ohio  River,  a  little  below  the 
mouth  of  Fishing  Creek  in  Virginia — two  broth- 
ers by  the  name  of  Wells,  whose  united  progeny 
amounted  to  forty-seven;  one  brother  having 
twenty-four  and  the  other  twenty-three  chil- 
dren. The  two  families  used  to  fill  one  school- 
house  themselves.  They,  however,  had  each  of 
them  a  second  wife;  and  a  number  of  the 
children  are  yet  living  in  that  vicinity. 

The  latter  part  of  September,  in  the  year 
1791,  Mr.  Carpenter  left  home  for  Marietta 
with  a  large  drove  of  cattle.  This  place  he 
had  visited  twice  before  on  the  same  business. 
He  had  in  company  with  him,  to  assist  in 
driving  the  cattle  through  the  wilderness  by  a 
path,  on  each  side  of  which  the  trees  had  been 
marked,  five  men,  and  his  little  son,  Nicholas, 
then  only  ten  years  of  age.  He  was,  however, 
an  uncommonly-active  boy,  and  often  traversed 


LEGEND   OP   "CARPENTER'S  BAR,"  203 

the  woods  on  horseback,  to  the  distance  of 
twenty  and  thirty  miles,  all  alone  on  the  busi- 
ness of  his  father.  As  the  Indians  were  then 
hostile,  he  was  warned  of  the  danger  by  his 
mother,  who  was  very  sorry  to  part  with  him, 
but  he  pleaded  so  earnestly  to  go,  and  playfully 
answered  that  he  could  easily  escape  on  his 
little  horse  if  attacked,  which  was  very  swift 
of  foot,  that  she  finally  consented.  The  names 
of  the  men  who  accompanied  him  ^ere  Jesse 
Hughes,  George  Leggett,  John  Paul,  Burns, 
and  Ellis.  They  had  traveled  three  days  with- 
out any  signs  of  danger,  and  were  approaching 
within  sight  of  the  Ohio  River,  and  only  six 
miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  Muskingum,  when 
they  encamped  for  the  night  on  the  banks  of  a 

small  run,  a  short  distance  from  its   mouth 

considering  themselves  as  safe  from  attack,  and 
their  journey  in  a  manner  completed.  Their 
horses  were  hoppled  and  turned  loose  to  feed 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  camp,  on  the  wild  pea 
vine  and  tall  plants  with  which  the  woods  were 


204     EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

filled  at  that  day ;  while  the  drove  of  cattle  lay- 
around  and  browsed,  or  ruminated  after  their 
weary  travel,  as  best  suited  their  several  in- 
clinations. 

While  they  are  thus  quietly  resting  we  will 
travel  to  another  part  of  the  forest.  It  so 
happened  that  not  far  from  the  time  of  their 
leaving  home  with  the  drove,  a  marauding 
party  of  six  Shawnee  Indians,  headed  as  was 
afterward  <pcertained,  by  Tecumseh,  then  about 
twenty  years  of  age,  and  finally  so  celebrated 
for  bravery  and  talents,  crossed  the  Ohio  River 
a  short  distance  above  the  mouth  of  the  Little 
Kanawha.  They  had  left  Old  Chillicothe,  a 
noted  Indian  town  on  the  Scioto  River,  with 
the  intention  of  making  a  foray  on  the  west 
branch  of  the  Monongahela,  for  the  purpose 
of  stealing  horses  and  killing  the  inhabitants. 
Passing  by  "Neal's  Station"  on  the  Kanawha, 
they  met  with  a  colored  boy  of  Mr.  Neal's, 
about  fourteen  years  old,  who  was  at  some 
distance  from   the   house   collecting  the   cows, 


LEGEND   OF   "  CARPENTER'S  BAR."  205 

it  being  just  at  evening.  They  took  him  a 
prisoner  and  forced  him  to  go  along  with  them, 
but  did  no  other  mischief  lest  alarm  should  be 
given  and  pursuit  made,  and  the  main  object  of 
their  excursion  be  frustrated.  The  route  from 
Kanawha  to  the  west  branch  was  well  known 
to  the  Indians  and  all  the  old  hunters.  And 
although  the  country  was  a  continued  wilder- 
ness, their  main  war  paths  were  as  familiar  to 
them  as  our  modern  turnpikes  are  to  travelers. 
On  this  route  a  part  of  the  old  Indian  trail,  for 
nearly  twenty  miles,  lies  on  the  top  of  a  narrow 
ridge,  now  known  to  all  this  region  as  "Dry 
Ridge."  It  is  so  named  from  its  being  desti- 
tute of  any  water  for  all  this  distance,  and  is 
the  dividing  line  between  the  streams  which 
fall  into  Hughes  River  on  one  side,  and  those 
which  flow  into  Middle-Island  Creek  on  the 
other. 

I  well  remember  traveling  on  this  ridge  thirty 
years  ago.  It  was  to  visit  a  patient  thirty-two 
miles  from  Marietta,  and  we  reached  our  desti- 


206     EARLY  HISTORY  OF   THE  NORTH-WEST. 

nation  a  little  before  midnight.     The  sick  man 
was  in  the  agonies  of  death,  and  expired  shortly 
after.      The  house,  a   small   log-cabin,  was   so 
crowded  with  visitors,  and  there  was   so  much 
talking  and  noise  that  I  could  not  sleep,  and 
concluded  to  mount  my  horse  and  return.     It 
was  the  last  of  October,  and  a  clear  starlight 
night,  about  two  o'clock,  and  was  not  the  less 
dreary  from  my  being  all  alone,  and  the  rec- 
ollection  of  the   scene    I    had  just   witnessed. 
There  was  not  a  house  for  twenty  miles.    Ever 
and  anon  the  howl  of  a  wolf,  or  the  shrill  yell 
of  a  panther,  only  a  few  rods  from  the  path, 
made  both  the  horse   and  the  rider  prick  up 
their  ears.     After  a  solitary  ride  of  four  hours 
I  reached   a  cabin   at   the   foot  of  the   ridge, 
where  on  inquiry  I  learned  that  a  great  many 
deer   had  been   lately   killed  along   the  ridge, 
and  that  an  unusual  number  of  wolves,  attracted 
by  the   smell  of  the  blood,  had  assembled  to' 
feast  on  the  offal.     This  path  was  then  pointed 
out  to  me  as  "the  old  Indian  trail,"  and  was 


LEGEND  OF   "  CARPENTER'S   BAR."  207 

doubtless  the  same  along  which  Tecumseh  and 
his  party  had  marched. 

5ut  to  return  from  this  episode.  Before  they 
reached  the  waters  of  the  Monongahela  Frank, 
the  black  boy,  became  much  tired  with  his  long 
walk,  when  the  Indians,  to  encourage  him,  prom- 
ised him  a  horse  to  ride  on  their  return.  Soon 
after  leaving  the  ridge  they  came  upon  the  trail 
of  Mr.  Carpenter's  drove,  and  thinking  them  a 
caravan  of  new  settlers  on  their  way  to  the 
Ohio,  they  immediately  gave  up  any  further 
progress  east,  and  turned  with  great  energy 
and  high  spirits  on  the  fresh  large  trail,  which 
they  saw  had  been  made  only  the  day  before. 
So  broad  was  the  track  made  by  the  drove  of 
more  than  a  hundred  cattle  and  six  or  seven 
horses,  that  they  followed  it  without  difficulty 
all  night,  and  came  upon  the  cattle  and  the 
camp  fire  a  little  before  day. 

Previously  to  commencing  the  attack  they 
took  the  precaution  of  securing  the  black  boy 
with  thongs  to  a  stout  sapling,  a  short  distance 


208     EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

from  the  camp,  telling  him  if  he  made  any 
noise  the  tomahawk  would  be  his  fate.  The 
tramping  and  noise  of  the  cattle  assisted  the 
Indians  in  making  their  approaches  to  recon- 
noiter  the  camp,  as  their  own  movements  would 
be  blended  with  those  of  the  cattle  in  the  ears 
of  the  sentries,  had  there  been  any.  But  this 
precaution  they  had  not  taken,  as  they  in  fact 
considered  themselves  in  no  danger.  Tecumseh, 
with  the  caution  that  ever  after  distinguished 
him,  placed  his  men  behind  the  trunk  of  a  large 
fallen  tree,  only  a  few  rods  from  the  camp, 
where  they  could  watch  the  movements  of  their 
enemies  and  not  be  seen  themselves.  At  the 
first  dawn  of  morning,  Carpenter,  who  was  the 
first  to  rise,  awakened  his  men,  saying  it  was 
time  to  be  moving;  and  when  their  ablutions 
were  completed,  he  called  them  together  that 
they  might  begin  the  day  with  the  accustomed 
acts  of  devotion.  As  the  men  sat  around  the 
fire,  he  commenced  reading  and  singing  a  hymn, 
in  which  the  men  all  joined,  from  the  old  "  West- 


LEGEND   OF   "  CARPENTER'S   BAR."  209 

End"  Baptist  collection,  and  was  in  the  act  of 
reading  the  following  lines  of  the  third  verse : 

"  Awake  our  souls,  away  our  fears, 

Let  every  trembling  thought  begone ; 
Awake  and  run  the  heavenly  race, 
And  put  a  cheerful  courage  on." 

At  this  moment  the  Indians  all  fired,  follow- 
ing the  discharge  with  a  most  terrific  yell,  and 
immediately  rushed  upon  their  astonished  and 
unprepared  victims  with  their  tomahawks.  The 
fire  of  the  Indians  was  not  very  well  directed, 
as  it  killed  only  one  man,  Ellis,  from  Green- 
brier, and  wounded  John  Paul  through  the 
hand.  Ellis  immediately  fell,  exclaiming,  "0 
Lord!  I  am  killed."  The  rest  sprang  to  their 
feet,  and  before  they  could  all  get  their  rifles, 
which  were  standing  against  a  tree,  the  Indians 
were  among  them.  Hughes,  who  had  been  an 
old  Indian  hunter,  in  his  confusion  seized  on 
two  guns,  his  own  and  Mr.  Carpenter's,  and 
pushed  into  the  woods  with  an  Indian  at  his 

heels.    He  discharged  one  of  them,  but  whether 
14 


210     EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

with  effect  is  not  known,  and  threw  the  other 
down.  Not  having  completed  dressing  himself 
before  the  attack,  his  long  leather  leggins  were 
only  fastened  to  the  belt  around  his  waist,  but 
were  hanging  loose  below,  and  getting  between 
his  legs  greatly  impeded  his  flight.  Finding 
he  should  be  soon  overtaken  unless  he  could 
rid  himself  of  their  incumbrance,  he  stopped, 
and  placing  his  foot  on  the  lower  ends  tore 
them  loose  from?  the  belt,  leaving  his  legs  naked 
from  the  hips  downward.  This  operation,  al- 
though the  work  of  a  moment,  nearly  cost  him 
his  life,  for  his  pursuer,  then  within  a  few  yards, 
threw  his  tomahawk  so  accurately  as  to  graze 
his  head.  Freed  from  this  impediment  he  soon 
left  his  foe  far  behind  and  escaped.  My  in- 
formant, a  son  of  Mr.  Carpenter,  now  living 
in  Marietta,  but  then  a  small  boy,  says  he  well 
remembers  seeing  the  bullet  holes  in  Hughes's 
hunting  shirt,  so  narrow  was  his  escape. 

John  Paul,  with  his  wounded  hand,  was  saved 
by  his   superior   activity  in   running.     George 


LEGEND   OF   "  CARPENTER'S   BAR."  211 

Leggett  was  pursued  for  nearly  four  miles,  over- 
taken and  killed.  Burns,  a  strong,  athletic  man, 
and  not  much  of  a  runner,  was  slain  near  the 
camp  after  a  desperate  resistance,  as  the  vines 
and  weeds  were  all  trampled  down  for  more 
than  a  rod  square  around  where  he  lay.  When 
found  a  few  days  after,  his  stout  jack-knife  was 
still  clasped  in  his  hand,  with  which  he  had 
doubtless  inflicted  some  wounds  on  his  foes. 
Mr.  Carpenter,  although  lame,  having  had  his 
ankle  joint  shattered  by  a  rifle  shot  many  years 
before,  would  have  done  some  execution  on  his 
enemies  could  he  have  fouhd  his  rifle,  which 
Hughes  in  his  hurry  and  confusion  had  carried 
off.  Although  a  very  brave  man,  yet  without 
arms  he  could  do  nothing,  and  being  too  lame 
for  a  long  race,  he  sought  safety  by  conceal- 
ment behind  a  clump  of  willows  in  the  bed  of 
the  run,  but  was  soon  discovered.  His  little 
son  was  also  taken  near  him.  They  were  hur- 
ried to  the  spot  where  black  Frank  was  left, 
and  both  of  them   killed;    the  father  by  the 


212     EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

plunge  of  a  knife,  and  the  son  by  the  stroke 
of  a  tomahawk.  What  led  to  the  slaughter 
after  they  had  surrendered  is  not  known,  but 
probably  from  the  Indians'  thirst  for  the  blood 
of  white  men.  Negroes  when  captured  by  them 
they  seldom  killed,  but  treated  kindly,  either 
from  pity  at  their  condition,  or  the  fancy  that 
they  were,  from  their  color,  in  some  way  re- 
motely connected.  The  body  of  Mr.  Carpen- 
ter was  found  carefully  wrapped  up  in  his  own 
new  blanket,  with  a  pair  of  new  Indian  mocca- 
sins on  his  feet,  and  his  scalp  not  removed, 
while  all  the  other's  had  been  subjected  to  this 
operation.  The  removal  of  the  scalp  is  con- 
sidered the  greatest  disgrace  that  can  befall  a 
warrior.  These  marks  of  respect  after  his 
death  were  shown  him  by  an  Indian  of  the 
party,  whose  gun  Mr.  Carpenter  had  "repaired 
a  few  months  before,  and  had  refused  any  com- 
pensation for  the  service.  This  fact  was  told  to 
Christopher  Carpenter  by  one  of  the  Indians, 
many  years  after,  at  Urbana,  in  Ohio. 


LEGEND   OP   "CARPENTER'S  BAR."         213 

Tecumseli's  party,  after  collecting  the  plunder 
of  the  camp,  retreated  in  such  haste,  fearing  a 
pursuit  from  the  garrison  at  Fort  Harmar,  that 
they  left  all  the  horses,  which  had  probably 
scattered  in  the  woods  alarmed  at  the  noise  of 
the  attack.  Before  starting  from  this  scene,  of 
blood,  they  sent  out  one  of  their  number  to 
unloose  the  black  boy  Frank,  and  take  him 
along  with  them,  but  to  save  them  this  trouble 
he  had  already  unloosed  himself.  In  the  midst 
of  the  confusion  of  the  assault,  by  great  exer- 
tions he  broke  the  thongs  which  bound  him, 
and  hid  himself  in  a  thick  patch  of  tall  weeds 
near  by.  After  all  was  quiet,  and  he  supposed 
the  Indians  had  departed,  he  raised  his  head 
cautiously  and  looked  around,  when  much  to 
his  amazement  he  saw  a  tall  Indian  within  a 
few  paces  of  him,  but  who  being  occupied  with 
other  thoughts  fortunately  did  not  see  him,  and 
wen^t  off  in  another  direction.  Frank  returned 
to  his  master,  and  died  only  a  few  months 
since.     The   death   of  Mr.    Carpenter   and   his 


214     EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

comrades  filled  the  settlement  on  Monongahela 
with  grief  and  consternation,  for  he  was  greatly 
esteemed,  and  his  loss  for  many  years  deeply 
lamented. 


DESCRIPTION   OF   FORT   HARMAR.  215 


CHAPTER    XI. 

MISCELLANEOUS    SCRAPS. 
DESCRIPTION  OF   FORT   HARMAR. 

Fort  Harmar  was  built  in  the  Autumn  of 
the  year  1786,  by  a  detachment  of  United 
States  troops  under  the  command  of  Lieut.- 
Col.  Harmar.  The  "form  of  the  fort  was  pen- 
tagonal, or  five-sided,  with  a  bastion  of  the 
same  form  at  each  corner.  The  walls  or  cur- 
tains between  the  bastions  were  each  about  one 
hundred  and  twenty  feet  in  length  and  twelve 
feet  high,  constructed  of  hewed  logs.  The  bar- 
racks for  the  soldiers  were  built  against  the 
curtains,  the  walls  of, which  formed  the  out- 
side of  the  buildings,  while  the  roofs  descended 
within,  throwing  the  rain-water  inside  the  in- 
closure.  The  rooms  in  these  were  large,  form- 
ing ample  quarters  for  the  troops,  and  buildings 


216      EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

for  the  provisions  and  stores.  The  bastions 
were  constructed  with  large  palisades,  made  of 
the  trunks  of  trees  set  upright  in  the  earth, 
and  of  an  equal  hight  with  the  curtains;  the 
sides  of  the  bastions  measured  about  forty  feet 
each,  the  outlines  of  which  are  still  distinctly 
marked  in  the  earth  where  they  stood.  Con- 
venient dwelling-houses  for  the  officers  were 
built  in  each  bastion,  with  two  rooms  at  least 
twenty  feet  square.  An  arsenal  was  built,  near 
the  center  of  the  fort,  of  logs  covered  with 
earth,  for  the  protection  of  the  powder,  and 
was  a  kind  of  bomb-proof  structure.  The  main 
gate  was  placed  on  the  side  next  the  river,  and 
a  sally-port  on  that  looking  toward  the  hill, 
which  is  distant  about  eighty  rods. 

In  the  center  of  that  line  of  barracks  which 
stood  in  the  curtain  next  the  Muskingum,  and 
which  was  probably  the  guard-house,  there  arose 
a  square  tower  like  a  cupola,  in  which  was 
stationed  j;he  sentry.  Cannon  were  mounted 
in  the  bastions — four  and  six-pounders — so  as 


DESCRIPTION  OF  FORT   HARMAR.  217 

to  rake  the  curtains  in  case  of  an  assault.  The 
main  or  water  gate  was  at  least  fifty  feet  from 
the  edge  of  the  second  bank  of  the  river,  whence 
the  surface  gradually  sloped  down  about  eight 
feet  to  the  first  bank,  similar  to  what  now  is 
seen  above  the  ferry.  On  this  first  bank  or 
bottom  stood  three  large  log  buildings,  which 
were  occupied  by  the  artisans  of  the  fort  as 
blacksmith's,  wheelwright's,  and  carpenter's 
shops ;  a  few  yards  beyond  these  buildings 
was  the  verge  of  the  river  bank.  All  this 
original  space  between  the  river  and  the  fort 
had  been  washed  away  some  years  since  by 
the  crumbling  of  the  loose  earth,  against  which 
the  waters  of  the  Ohio  rushed  with  great  vio- 
lence during  the  times  pf  high  floods.  At  this 
period  the  old  well,  which  was  dug  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  works,  is  seen  projecting  from  the 
upright  face  of  the  bank  from  the  gradual  waste 
of  fifty  years,  and  has  partly  tumbled  down  the 
slope;  in  a  few  years  more  it  will  all  be  gone. 
Shots  of  four  and  six  pounds  are  still  picked 


218     EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

up  in  the  soil,  and  were  probably  buried  when 
the  troops  under  General  Harmar  left  the  place 
in  the  year  1790.  In  the  rear  of  the  fort,  but 
close  to  the  walls,  were  laid  out  nice  gardens, 
and  cultivated  by  the  soldiers;  in  these  were 
grown  many  varieties  of  culinary  vegetables, 
and  very  superior  peaches,  planted  by  Major 
Doughty.  At  that  time  the  virgin  soil  pro- 
duced fruit  from  the  wood  of  three  years' 
growth.  A  fine  variety  of  peach  is  still  known 
about  Marietta  by  the  name  of  "the  Doughty 
peach."  The  Major  was  a  tasteful  horticul- 
turist as  well  as  a  brave  soldier. 

This  continual  crumbling  of  the  banks  has 
widened  the  mouth  of  the  Muskingum  River 
more  than  two  hundred  feet;  the  effect  of 
which  has  been  that  a  dry  sand-bar  or  island 
now  occupies  the  spot  where  once,  previous  to 
the  building  of  the  fort,  the  water  in  the  Sum- 
mer months  was  ten  or  twelve  feet  deep,  with 
a  smooth  rock  bottom.  The  huge  sycamore 
trees,  as  they  reclined  over  the  water  on  the 


DESCRIPTION   OF  FORT   HARMAR.  219 

opposite  shores,  nearly  touched  their  tops;  and 
to  a  person  passing  hastily  by  in  the  middle 
of  the  Ohio  the  mouth  of  the  Muskingum  would 
be  hardly  noticed,  so  deeply  was  it  enshrouded 
by  these  giants  of  the  forest. 

About  the  year  1800  there  was  found  in  the 
mouth  of  the  Muskingum,  by  a  boy  who  was 
bathing,  a  plate  of  lead  of  several  pounds 
weight,  on  which  was  engraven  a  Latin  in- 
scription, indicating  that  formal  possession  was 
taken  of  the  country  in  the  name  of  the  king 
of  France ;  but  whether  by  Louis  XIV  or  XV, 
or  in  what  year,  my  informant  had  forgotten, 
although  it  was  found  by  one  of  his  own  sons. 
It  would  have  been  a  very  interesting  relic, 
but  was  unfortunately  destroyed  several  years 
since  by  being  melted  and  cast  into  rifle  bul- 
lets. It  seems  that  this  was  a  common  mode 
of  taking  possession  of  a  new  country  by  the 
early  discoverers;  the  leaden  tablet  being  either 
fastened  to  a  large  wooden  cross  set  up  on  the 
shore,  or  else   thrown  into  the  mouth  of  the 


220      EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

stream.  Several  tragical  events  transpired 
during  the  war  in  the  vicinity  of  the  fort; 
among  others,  the  one  in  which  the  late  Gov- 
ernor Meigs  was  an  actor  is  worthy  of  being 
recited  among  the  contributions  to  the  early 
history  of  the  Valley  of  the  Ohio. 

THE   ESCAPE   OF   R.  J.  MEIGS,  ESQ. 

During  the  whole  war  it  was  customary  for 
the  -  inmates  of  all  the  garrisons  to  cultivate 
considerable  fields  of  corn  and  other  vegetables 
near  the  walls  of  their  defenses ;  although  a 
very  hazardous  pursuit,  it  was  preferable  to 
starvation.  For  a  part  of  the  time  no  pro- 
visions could  be  obtained  from  the  older  settle- 
ments above  on  the  Monongahela  and  Ohio; 
sometimes  from  scarcity  among  the  settlers 
themselves;  and  was  procured  at  great  hazard 
from  the  attack  of  the  Indians,  who  watched 
the  river  for  the  capture  of  boats.  Another 
reason  was  the  want  of  money,  many  of  the 
early  inhabitants  having  spent  a  large  share  of 


THE    ESCAPE   OF   R.  J.  MEIGS,  ESQ.  221 

their  funds  in  the  journey  to  Ohio,  and  for  the 
purchase  of  lands ;  so  that  necessity,  the  mother 
of  many  good  and  many  bad  things,  compelled 
them  to  plant  their  fields.  The  war  having 
commenced  so  soon  after  their  arrival,  and  at  a 
period  entirely  unexpected — as  a  formal  treaty 
had  been  made  with  the  Indian  tribes  at  Mari- 
etta in  1789 — and  no  stores  being  laid  up  for 
future  use,  it  fell  upon  them'  quite  unprepared. 
So  desperate  were  their  circumstances  at  one 
period  that  serious  thoughts  were  entertained 
of  evacuating  the  country  by  many  of  the 
leading  men  of  the  colony. 

In  this  state  of  affairs  Mr.  Meigs,  then  a 
young  lawyer,  and  but  recently  married,  was 
forced  to  lay  aside  the  gown,  and  take  up, 
like  Cincinnatus,  the  sword  and  the  plow; 
although  at  that  time  but  little  plowing  was 
done,  as  much  of  the  corn  was  raised  by  plant- 
ing the  rich  loose  soil  among  the  stumps,  after 
burning  off  the  logs  and  brush.  Even  by  this 
simple  process  large  crops  were  invariably  pro- 


222      EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

duced ;  so  that  nearly  all  the  implements  needed 
by  the  farmer  were  the  ax  and  the  hoe. 

Early  in  June,  1792,  it  so  happened  that 
Mr.  Meigs,  whose  residence  was  in  "Campus 
Martius,"  had  been  at  work  in  a  field  of  corn 
which  he  had  planted  on  the  west  side  of  the 
Muskingum,  in  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Harmar. 
Having  finished  the  labor  of  the  day,  just  be- 
fore night,  he  with  his  companion,  Joseph  Sy- 
monds,  and  a  black  boy,  an  apprentice,  whom 
he  had  brought  with  him  from  Connecticut,  set 
out  on  their  return  to  the  garrison.  After 
leaving  the  field  there  was  a  considerable  piece 
of  forest  to  pass  through  between  the  "clear- 
ing" and  the  spot  where  their  canoe  Mas  fast- 
ened to  the  shore,  opposite  the  fort  where  they 
dwelt.  Symonds  and  the  boy  were  unarmed; 
Mr.  Meigs  carried  a  small  fowling-piece,  which 
he  had  taken  to  the  field  for  the  purpose  of 
shooting  a  wild  turkey,  which  bird  at  that  day 
abounded  in  such  immense  numbers  as  would 
hardly  be  credited  at  this  day.     Flocks  of  sev- 


THE   ESCAPE   OF   R.  J.  MEIGS,  ESQ.         223 

eral  hundred  individuals  were  not  uncommon  in 
the  Autumn,  and  of  a  size  and  fatness  that 
would  have  excited  the  admiration  of  an  epi- 
cure of  any  period  of  the  world  —  even  of 
Apicus  himself.  Meeting,  however,  with  no 
turkeys,  he  had  discharged  his  gun  at  a 
squirrel. 

Just  at  this  juncture  two  Indians,  who  had 
been  for  some  time  watching  their  movements, 
sprung  into  the  path  behind  them,  and  unper- 
ceived  fired  and  shot  Symonds  through  the 
shoulder.  He,  being  a  superior  swimmer, 
rushed  down  the  bank  and  into  the  Mus- 
kingum River,  when,  turning  on  his  back,  he 
was  enabled  to  keep  himself  on  the  surface 
till  he  had  floated  down  near  to  Fort  Harmar, 
where  he  was  taken  up  by  the  soldiers  in  a 
canoe.  His  wound,  although  a  dangerous  one, 
was  healed,  and  I  knew  him  twenty  years 
after.  The  black  boy  followed  Symonds  into 
the  water  as  far  as  he  could  wade;  being,  how- 
ever, no  swimmer,  he  was  unable  to  get  out 


224      EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

of  the  reach  of  the  Indian  who  shot  at  them, 
but  was  seized  and  dragged  on  shore.  The 
Indians  were  very  desirous  of  making  him  a 
prisoner,  and  taking  him  along  with  them, 
while  he  as  obstinately  refused,  and  made  so 
much  resistance,  as  they  tried  to  drag  him 
along,  that  finding  they  should  by  longer  delay 
be  in  danger  themselves  from  the  rangers  at 
the  garrison,  who  were  firing  at  them  from 
the  opposite  shore,*they  reluctantly  tomahawked 
and  scalped  him. 

From  some  accident  it  seems  that  only  one 
of  the  Indian  warriors  was  armed  with  a  rifle; 
the  other  had  only  a  tomahawk  and  knife. 
After  Symonds  was'  shot  Mr.  Meigs  imme- 
diately faced  about  in  order  to  escape  to  the 
fort.  The  warrior  armed  with  his  hatchet  had 
placed  himself  between  him  and  this  refuge, 
and  cut  off  his  retreat.  Clubbing  his  gun, 
he  rushed  upon  the  Indian,  aiming  a  blow  at 
his  head,  which  the  Indian  returned  with  his 
hatchet.     From  the  rapidity  of  the  movement 


THE  ESCAPE   OF   R.  J.  MEIGS,   ESQ.         225 

neither  of  them  were  much  injured,  although  it 
staggered  them  considerably,  but  not  so  much 
as  to  bring  either  to  the  ground.  Instantly 
recovering  from  the  shock,  Mr.  Meigs  pursued 
his  course  to  the  fort,  with  the  Indian  close  at 
his  heels.  He  was  in  the  vigor  of  his  life,  and 
had  by  previous  practice  become  a  very  swift 
runner.  His  foe  was  also  very  fleet,  and  among 
the  most  active  of  their  warriors,  as  such  only 
were  sent  into  the  settlements  on  marauding 
excursions.  The  race  continued  for  the  distance 
of  sixty  or  eighty  rods  with  little  advantage  on 
either  side,  when  Mr.  Meigs  gradually  increased 
his  distance  ahead,  and  leaping  across  a  small 
run  which  intersected  the  path,  the  Indian 
stopped,  threw  his  hatchet,  which  narrowly 
missed  its  object,  and  gave  up  the  chase  with 
one  of  those  fierce  yells  which  rage  and  dis- 
appointment both  served  to  sharpen.  So  shrill 
and  loud  was  the  cry  that  it  was  distinctly 
heard  at  both  the  forts. 

About  eight  years  since  an  Indian  tomahawk 
15 


226      EARLY  HISTORY  OP  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

was  plowed  up  near  this  very  spot,  and  was 
most  probably  the  one  thrown  at  Mr.  Meigs, 
as  the  pursuit  from  Fort  Harmar  was  so  imme- 
diate on  hearing  the  shots  and  the  Indian  war- 
cry  that  he  had  no  time  to  search  for  it.  With 
the  scalp  of  the  poor  black  boy  the  Indians 
ascended  the  abrupt  side  of  the  hill  which 
overlooked  the  garrison,  and,  shouting  defiance 
to  their  foes,  escaped  into  the  thick  forest, 
where  pursuit  would  have  been  hopeless.  The 
excitement  was  very  great  in  the  garrisons,  and 
taught  the  inmates  a  useful  lesson — that  of 
being  better  armed  and  more  on  their  guard 
when  they  ventured  out  on  their  agricultural 
avocations. 

Had  Mr.  Meigs  tried  any  other  expedient 
than  that  of  facing  and  rushing  instantly  upon 
his  enemy,  he  must  inevitably  have  lost  his  life. 
On  his  right  was  the  river;  on  his  left  a  very 
steep  and  high  hill;  beyond  him  the  pathless 
forest;  and  between  him  and  the  fort  his  In- 
dian   foes.      To    his    sudden    and    unexpected 


DESCRIPTION   OF   CAMPUS   MARTIUS.        227 

assault,  to  his  dauntless  and  intrepid  manner, 
and  above  all  his  activity  in  the  race,  he  un- 
doubtedly owed  his  life.  He,  however,  lived  to 
see  this  infant  colony  grow  into  a  great  State, 
and  to  share  largely  and  deservedly  in  his 
country's  confidence  by  holding  some  of  the 
most  honorable  posts  in  her  power  to  bestow. 

DESCRIPTION   OF   CAMPUS   MARTIUS. 

This  fort  or  stockaded  garrison  was  built  at 
Marietta  by  the  Ohio  Company,  under  the 
direction  of  General  Rufus  Putnam.  At  the 
period  of  the  landing  of  the  first  settlers,  on 
the  7th  of  April,  1788,  the  ground  on  which 
it  stood,  and  the  whole  adjacent  region,  was 
covered  with  a  thick  growth  of  forest  trees. 
The  plan  of  the  garrison  was  made,  and  the 
preparation  of  materials  commenced,  soon  after ; 
but  it  was'  not  finally  completed  till  near  the 
time  of  the  Indian  war  in  -1790.  The  walls 
formed  a  regular  parallelogram,  the  sides  of 
which  were  equal,  and  one  hundred  and  eighty 


228     EARLY  HISTORY   XF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

feet  in  length.  At  each  corner  was  erected  a 
strong  bastion  or  block-house,  surmounted  by  a 
tower.  The  bastions  were  twenty  feet  square, 
and  projected  ten  feet  beyond  the  curtains  or 
main  walls  of  the  fort;  the  upper  stories  of 
which  projected  several  feet  over  the  lower, 
so  as  to  give  the  occupants  the  command  of  a 
raking  fire  on  their  assailants.  The  interme- 
diate curtains  were  built  up  with  dwelling- 
houses  made  of  hewn  logs.  The  whole  was 
two  stories  high,  and  covered  with  good  shingle 
roofs.  Convenient  chimneys  were  built  of  bricks 
for  cooking  and  warming  the  rooms.  In  the 
west  and  south  fronts  were  strong  gateways, 
and  over  the  one  looking  to  the  river  was  a 
belfry.  Running  from  corner  to  corner  of  the 
block-houses  was  a  row  of  palisades  sloping 
outward,  and  twenty  feet  in  advance  of  these  a 
row  of  very  strong  and  stout  palisades  set  up- 
right in  the  earthT  Gateways  also  led  through 
these.  Each  bastion  was  mounted  with  a  small 
piece    of    ordnance,    so   much   elevated    as    to 


DESCRIPTION   OF   CAMPUS   MARTIUS.        229 

command  the  adjacent  plain;  loop-holes  were 
made  at  convenient  distances  for  musketry. 

The  dwelling-houses  occupied  about  thirty 
feet  each,  and  were  of  the  same  width  as  the 
bastions,  and  afforded  sufficient  room  for  the 
accommodation  of  forty  or  fifty  families,  and 
did  actually  contain  from  three  to  four  hundred 
men,  women,  and  children  during  the  Indian 
war.  At  the  commencement  of  the  war  the 
block-houses  or  bastions  were  occupied  as  fol- 
lows: one  by  the  family  of  General  St.  Clair; 
one  for  the  holding  of  courts  and  for  religious 
worship.  The  office  of  pastor  was  filled  by  the 
Rev.  Daniel  Story  during  the  war,  and  for 
several  years  after  that  period.  The  first  civil 
courts  ever  assembled  in  Ohio  'were  held  at 
Marietta. 

A  third  bastion  was  occupied  for  offices  by 
the  directors  of  the  Ohio  Company,  and  a 
fourth  for  private  families.  During  the  war 
a  regular  military  corps  was  organized,  and 
sentries  continually  posted  in  the  towers  over 


230     EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

the  bastions.  The  area  within  the  walls  formed 
a  fine  parade-ground,  in  the  center  of  which 
was  a  well,  eighty  feet  in  depth,  for  the  supply 
of  water  to  the  inhabitants  in  case  of  a  siege. 
A  large  sun-dial  stood  for  many  years  in  the 
square,  and  gave  note  of  the  march  of  time; 
it  is  yet  preserved  as  a  relic  of  the  old  fort. 
The  whole  formed  a  very  strong  work,  and 
reflected  great  credit  on  the  head  that  planned 
it.  The  fort  was  in  a  manner  impregnable  to 
the  attack  of  Indians,  and  none  but  a  regular 
army  with  cannon  could  have  subdued  it.  The 
hights  across  the  Muskingum,  it  is  true,  com- 
manded and  looked  down  upon  the  defenses 
of  Campus  Martius,  but  there  was  no  enemy 
to  fear  in  a  "condition  to  take  possession  of 
this  advantage. 

The  fort  stood  on  the  verge  of  that  beautiful 
plain  overlooking  the  Muskingum  River,  and  on 
which  those  celebrated  remains  of  antiquity  were 
erected,  probably  for  a  similar  purpose,  by  that 
ancient  and  wonderful  people,  whose  fate  yet 


DESCRIPTION  OF  CAMPUS   MARTIUS.        231 

remains  involved  in  obscurity.  From  a  com- 
parison of  the  crania,  or  skulls,  they  have  re- 
cently been  ascertained  to  be  of  the  same  race 
with  the  ancient  Peruvians.  The  heads  of  this 
ingenious  people,  the  remains  of  whose  industry 
and  skill  are  scattered  all  over  the  valley  of 
the  Ohio,  are  entirely  different  from  those  of 
the  Indian  races  of  the  West;  having  much 
narrower  palatal  bones,  and  the  organ  of  con- 
structiveness  well  developed,  while  those  of 
combativeness  and  destructiveness  are  small. 
Thus  much  to  the  credit  of  phrenology.  The 
ground  descended  into  ravines  on  the  north  and 
south  sides  of  the  fort.  On  the  west  was  an 
abrupt  descent  to  the  river  bottom;  while  the 
east  passed  out  on  to  the  level  plain.  On  this 
the  ground  was  entirely  cleared  of  timber,  to 
the  distance  of  a  rifle  shot,  so  as  to  afford  no 
shelter  to  a  hidden  foe.  Extensive  fields  of 
corn  were  planted  in  the  midst  of  the  girdled 
and  deadened  trees  beyond.  The  appearance 
of  the  garrison   from   without  was   grand   and 


232      EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

imposing;  at  a  little  distance  bearing  a  striking 
resemblance  to  one  of  the  armed  palaces,  or 
castles  of  the  feudal  ages. 

Between  the  fort  and  the  river,  on  the  rich 
alluvions,  were  laid  out  convenient  vegetable 
gardens  for  the  use  of  the  inhabitants  and  the 
officers  of  the  Ohio  Company.  On  the  shore 
of  the  Muskingum  was  built  a  substantial  tim- 
ber wharf,  at  which  lay  moored  a  fine  cedar- 
built  barge  for  twelve  oars,  constructed  by  Cap- 
tain I.  Devol,  with  a  number  of  perogues  and 
light  canoes  of  the  country.  In  these  boats, 
during  the  waf,  most  of  the  intercourse  was 
carried  on  between  the  settlements  of  the  com- 
pany, and  the  more  remote  towns  above  on  the 
Ohio  River.  Travel  by  land  was  very  hazard- 
ous, and  besides  there  were  no  roads  Or  bridges 
across  the  creeks. 

CHARACTER  OF   THE   PIONEERS. 

"While  many  of  the  early  settlements  in  the 
West  were  made  up  from  the  illiterate  and  the 


THE   FIRST   PREACHER  IN  OHIO.  233 

rude,  the  colony  at  Marietta,  like  those  of  some 
of  the  ancient  Greeks,  carried  with  it  the  sciences 
and  the  arts ;  and  although  placed  on  the  front- 
iers, amidst  the  howling  and  the  savage  wilder- 
ness, exposed  to  many  dangers  and  privations, 
there  flowed  in  the  veins  of  its  little  community 
some  of  the  best  blood  of  the  country;  and  it 
enrolled  many  men  of  highly-cultivated  minds 
and  exalted  intellects."  The  directors  of  the 
Ohio  Company  were  men  of  sound  sense,  and 
took  extensive  and  liberal  views  of  public  good, 
as  may  be  seen  in  the  ample  provision  made  for 
the  support  of  schools  and  the  Gospel.  One  of 
the  first  official  seals  engraved  in  Marietta  had 
for  its  legend,  "  Support  religion  and  learning." 

THB   FIRST   PREACHER  IN   OHIO. 

Soon  after  the  organization  of  the  Ohio  Com- 
pany, at  Boston,  Massachusetts,  in  the  year 
1787,  it  seems  that  the  enlightened  men  who 
directed  its  concerns  began  to  think  of  making 
arrangements  for  the  support  of  the  Gospel  and 


234     EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

the  instruction  of  youth  in  their  new  colony 
about  to  be  established  in  the  western  wilder- 
ness. Accordingly  a  resolution  was  passed 
at  a  meeting  of  the  directors  and  agents,  on 
the  7th  of  March,  in  the  year  1788,  at  Provi- 
dence, in  Rhode  Island,  for  the  support  of  the 
Gospel  and  a  teacher  of  youth;  in  consequence 
of  which  the  Rev.  Manasseh  Cutler,  one  of  the 
company  directors,  in  the  course  of  that  year 
engaged  the  Rev.  Daniel  Story,  then  preaching 
at  Worcester,  Massachusetts,  to  go  to  the  West 
as  chaplain  to  the  new  settlements  commenced 
at  Marietta.  After  a  tedious  and  laborious 
journey  across  the  Alleghany  Mountains,  Mr. 
Story  arrived  at  Marietta  in  the  Spring  of  the 
year  1789,  and  commenced  his  ministerial  la- 
bors  as  an  evangelist.  The  settlements  were 
new  and  situated  at  various  points,  some  of 
them  a  considerable  distance  from  Marietta; 
nevertheless,  he  visited  them  in  rotation,  in  con- 
formity with  the  arrangement  of  the  directors, 
by  which  he  was  to  preach  about  one-third  of 


THE  FIRST   PREACHER  IN  OHIO.  235 

the  time  at  the  settlements  of  Wolf  Creek  and 
Belpre. 

During  the  Indian  war,  from  1791  to  1795, 
he  preached  the  larger  portion  of  the  time  in 
the  north-west  block-house  of  Campus  Martius. 
The  upper  room  in  that  house  was  fitted  up 
with  benches  and  a  rude,  simple  desk,  so  as  to 
accommodate  an  audience  of  a  hundred  or  more. 
The  room  was  also  used  for  a  school,  which  was 
first  taught  by  Major  Anselm  Tupper,  a  son  of 
General  Benjamin  Tupper,  a  highly-gifted  and 
well-educated  man,  who  had  served  with  much 
credit  in  the  army  of  the  Revolution.  During 
.,  this  period,  a  committee  appointed  by  the  di- 
rectors to  report  on  the  religious  and  literary 
instruction  of  the  youth,  resolved  that  one 
hundred  and  eighty  dollars  be  paid  from  the 
funds  of  the  company  to  aid  the  new  settlement 
in  paying  a  teacher,  with  the  condition  that 
Marietta  support  a  teacher  one  year,  Belpre 
seven  months,  and  Waterford  three  months.  If 
they  complied  with  that,  this  sum  was   to  be 


236      EARLY  HISTORY  OF  TIIE  NORTH-WEST. 

divided  among  them  in  proportion  to  the  time. 
Near  the  same  period,  twenty  dollars  were  ap- 
propriated to  pay  Col.  E.  Battelle  for  religious 
instructions  at  Belpre.  Colonel  Battelle  was  a 
graduate  of  Cambridge  University,  and  acted 
as  chaplain  to  the  settlement  during  the  Indian 
war,  reading  the  Church  service  regularly  each 
Sabbath  to  the  inmates  of  Farmer's  Castle. 
The  meetings  were  held  in  the  south-east  block- 
house, where  he  resided.  These  testimonials 
sufficiently  prove  the  interest  the  Ohio  Company 
felt  for  the  spiritual  welfare,  as  well  as  the 
temporal  comfort  of  the  colonists.  Mr.  Story 
also  preached  occasionally  at  a  large  room  in 
the  upper  story  of  a  frame  house  in  the  stock- 
ade or  garrison  at  "the  Point,"  being  at  the 
junction  of  the  Muskingum  with  the  Ohio,  on 
the  left  bank;  Fort  Harmar  being  on  the  oppo- 
site shore.  At  periods  when  the  Indians  were 
quiet,  he  visited  and  preached  at  the  settlements 
of  Belpre  and  Wolf  Creek,  fifteen  and  twenty 
miles  from  Marietta.    These  pastoral  visits  were 


THE   FIRST    PREACHER  IN   OHIO.  237 

made  by  water  in  a  log  canoe,  propelled  by 
the  stout  arms  and  willing  hearts  of  the  early 
pioneers. 

In  the  year  1796  he  united  and  established 
a  Congregational  Church,  composed  of  persons 
residing  in  Marietta,  Belpre,  Waterford  and 
Vienna  in  Virginia.  In  1797  he  visited  his 
native  State,  and  remained  there  till  he  was 
called  to  the  pastoral  charge  of  the  Church  he 
had  thus  collected  in  the  wilderness.  He  was 
ordained  the  15th  of  August,  1797,  in  Danvers, 
Massachusetts,  there  being  no  ministers  to  per- 
form that  office  west  of  the  mountains,  to  the 
care  of  the  Church  in  Marietta  and  vicinity. 
This  relation  continued  between  Mr.  Story  and 
his  Church  till  the  15th  of  March,  1804,  when 
he  was  dismissed  at  his  own  request,  his  health 
having  become  too  much  impaired  for  him  to 
perform  the  labors  of  pastor  any  longer. 

Mr.  Story  was  a  native  of  the  town  of 
Boston,  State  of  Massachusetts,  and  graduated 
at  Dartmouth  College  in  1780.     He  was  in  the, 


238     EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

ministry  some  years  before  he  came  to  Ma- 
rietta, and  when  he  was  selected  by  Dr.  Cutler 
to  come  to  the  West  the  choice  was  much 
approved  by  those  who  knew  him.  In  coming 
to  Marietta,  however,  Mr.  Story  certainly  sac- 
rificed his  interest  and  his  comfort.  What 
money  he  possessed  at  that  time  was  invested 
in  Ohio  lands,  previous  to  coming  out,  with 
the  expectation  of  reasonable  support  from  the 
Ohio  Company,  till  the  rents  of  the  ministerial 
lands,  set  apart  for  the  support  of  the  Gospel, 
should  come  into  use  or  be  available;  but  this 
was  prevented  by  the  Indian  war,  and  no  funds 
were  derived  from  this  source  till  about  the 
year  1800.  The  support  from  the  funds  of 
the  Ohio  Company  was  continued  for  only  two 
years,  their  affairs  being  somewhat  deranged  by 
the  Indian  war;  the  expense  of  which  to  their 
treasury  being  upward  of  eleven  thousand  dol- 
lars. The  inhabitants  were  generally  much  im- 
poverished from  the  same  cause,  and  probably 
his  receipts  "for  preaching,  from  the  year  1789 


THE   FIRST   PREACHER  IN  OHIO.  239 

to  the  time  of  his  ordination  in  1797,  could  not 
have  paid  his  expenses  for  board  and  clothing. 
He  was  obliged  to  draw  upon  his  former  earn- 
ings by  the  sale  of  some  of  his  lands.  However, 
the  hospitality  of  one  or  two  kind  Christian 
friends,  who  gave  him  a  welcome  seat  at  their 
tables  during  a  part  of  this  period,  relieved 
him  from  some  of  his  difficulties.  At  his  death 
the  proceeds  from  the  sale  of  his  remaining 
lands  were  insufficient  to  discharge  all  the 
debts  incurred  while  laboring  in  the  new  set- 
tlements. 

In  person  Mr.  Story  was  rather  tall  and 
slender,  and  quite  brisk  and  active  in  his  move- 
ments; his  manners  easy,  with  a  pleasant  ad- 
dress; cheerful  and  animated  in  conversation; 
and  always  a  welcome  guest  in  the  families  he 
visited.  His  sermons  were  practical;  logically 
and  methodically  written,  after  the  manner  of 
that  day;  and  were  said  to  be  fully  equal  in 
matter  and  manner  to  those  of  the  first  preach- 
ers in  New  England.     In   prayer  he   greatly 


240     EARLY  HISTORY  OP  THE  NORTH-WESTf 

excelled,  both  in  propriety  and  diversity  of  sub- 
ject, as  well  as  in  beauty  of  language.  He  was 
never  married,  but  lived  a  single  life,  after  the 
manner  and  advice  of  St.  Paul. 

Placed  in  the  midst  of  a  people  continually 
trembling  for  the  safety  of  their  lives,  filled 
with  anxiety  for  the  support  of  their  families, 
and  surrounded  by  the  careless  manners  of  the 
soldiery,  it  is  not  to  be  expected  that  much 
could  be  done  under  such  circumstances  by  a 
humble  minister  of  the  Gospel  in  advancing  the 
spiritual  condition  of  the  people;  nevertheless, 
he  did  what  he  could  for  the  support  of  the 
cause  in  which  he  was  engaged,  and  his  name 
is  still  held  in  respectful  remembrance  by  the 
few  living  remnants  of  the  early  settlers  of 
Marietta.  He  died  the  30th  day  of  December, 
1804,  aged  forty -nine  years. 


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